[Oyster Mushroom Salad with Apple and Bergamot]
Pleurotes, also known as oyster mushrooms or tree oysters, are these large greyish beige mushrooms with a round funnel-shaped hat, that grow in clusters on the trunk of trees — they don’t care much if said tree is dead or alive, if you must know. The flesh underneath the hat (and that part is called the hymenophore, aren’t you glad you came) has deep white gills that go all the way down the curve of the mushroom. The pleurote has a slight aniseed smell and some say an oyster taste, but I can’t say that was too obvious to me — I would think the name originates from the way the pleurote clings to the tree bark like the oyster to its rock.
In French, the name pleurote, I was happy to learn, comes from the Greek pleura which means side, and ous, outos which means ear. “The ear that grows on the side of a tree”. Neat, huh? And also, despite what one might think (or at least what I thought) it is un pleurote and not une pleurote.
I found those mushrooms at the Batignolles market, still clumped up in gritty bouquets right off the tree (which the city kid in me largely favors over separated and cleaned up), and chose one that looked nice and plump with no bruises. In passing, the background on the picture above is the typical brown paper bag that’s used in small produce stores or at the market to package up the more fragile fruits and vegetables, while the robust ones often get the plastic bag treatment (or no bag at all, if you are prudent enough to have come with your own personal basket).
Since the rest of my produce harvest that day happened to include mâche (lamb’s ear lettuce), bergamots and small juicy apples, I made them all play together to create this winter salad: lightly dressed mâche leaves, apple slices marinated in bergamot juice, topped with warm sauteed pleurotes and chopped walnuts.
You will likely find oyster mushrooms in Asian stores, but if you don’t (in France pleurotes are most readily available during the fall and winter), feel free to substitute other mushrooms with the same kind of tender, slightly chewy texture, like shiitake or chanterelles for instance.
