Shared by Naama Tamir
Shared by Naama Tamir
Pickled Mushroom Martini
Yield: 1 quart container of mushrooms, 4 martinis
Pickled Mushroom Martini
Yield: 1 quart container of mushrooms, 4 martinisFamily Journey
GermanyWarsaw, PolandHaifa
Tel AvivRehovot, IsraelNew York City
“One of the most memorable childhood traditions in our family was foraging for mushrooms in the forest,” recalls Naama Tamir, the restaurateur behind Lighthouse BK. After foraging and picnicking in the forest, the Tamir family would go home, spread all the mushrooms on the floor, organize them by type, clean them, and identify any new varieties using a mushroom guidebook.
They’d pickle the mushrooms with carrots, bay leaf, floating mustard seeds, clove, allspice and vinegar. The mushrooms were silky, slippery, tart and acidic. The mushrooms were just one of the many pickles the family made and kept in their refrigerator including cabbage, cucumbers, eggplants, and beets. Today, those pickles inspire dishes like a fermented plate and a pickle brine martini at the restaurant.
Read more about Naama Tamir’s family in “The Family With a Passionate Pickling Program” and try her recipes for a bloody Miriam cocktail, and mushroom, onion, and potato scramble.
Ingredients
For the pickled mushrooms:
- 2 lbs. fresh mushrooms, such as cremini, oyster, and enoki
- 2 ¼ cups white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons whole mustard seeds
- 1 ½ teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon whole allspice
- 5 dried bay leaves
- 1 carrot, peeled and cut into ¼” inch slices
For the martinis:
- 6 oz. vodka or gin
- 4 oz. dry vermouth
- 2 oz. mushroom pickle liquid
- Pickled mushrooms, for garnish
Preparation
Step 1
Clean the mushrooms: Fill a large bowl with cold water, and have a clean, lint-free towel nearby. Add a few mushrooms to the water at a time, about as many as you can easily handle in your cupped hands, and swirl them around in the water to loosen any dirt. Immediately transfer the mushrooms to a towel, patting them dry and laying them out, caps up, to finish air-drying.
Step 2
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the cleaned mushrooms to the pot of boiling water and cook for 5-6 minutes, or 10 minutes for wild mushrooms. Blanch in ice water.
Step 3
Bring all the brine ingredients to boil. Place prepared mushrooms in a glass jar and pour the hot brine over the mushrooms to cover. Close the lid (it will vacuum-seal) and let cool slowly. When cool, place in the refrigerator.
Step 4
Make the martinis: If using vodka, shake with ice. If using gin, stir with ice. Combine the vodka or gin, dry vermouth, and pickled mushroom liquid. Strain into 4 chilled martini glasses. Garnish with pickled mushrooms.
