Watercress and Hot Shiitake Mushroom Salad

I always get a little thrill when I see a new vendor at the farmers' market. Last week at the Silver Spring market, I zeroed right in on the new mushroom stand, North Cove Mushrooms. I zipped over there faster than Buddy runs when he hears food drop off the dining room table.

There were two types of mushrooms, dried oyster mushrooms and fresh shiitakes. I went for the shiitakes with the thought that Gabe and I could add them to a kid-friendly meal to dress it up a little.

Gabe had bought a beautiful bunch of watercress, though, and I started to think that the peppery crunch of the watercress would make a nice contrast to those earthy, tender mushrooms. To add another contrast to the salad, I decided to make a hot dressing and pour it over the watercress to wilt it just slightly (I had that amazing shiitake and spinach salad from Sushi Ko in mind).

When I first served this, the mushrooms and dressing had cooled by the time we ate. It was better the next time, when we ate it while the mushrooms and the dressing were still hot.

We skipped back over to the mushroom vendor again this week and bought even more mushrooms this time. They're still in their brown paper bag in the refrigerator. What should we make next?

2009: Pea Shoot Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce
2010: Artichokes with Quick Hollandaise Sauce
2011: Simple Crusty Peasant Wheat Bread
2012: Avocado and Radish Quinoa Salad

Watercress and Hot Shiitake Mushroom Salad

Serves 4 as a side salad
15 minutes preparation time
15 minutes cooking time

1/2 pound shitake mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed, and sliced (about 3 cups)
1 large bunch watercress, rinsed (about 6 heaping cups)
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, sliced into a few big pieces
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
3 tablespoons puffed rice
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic and spread them as evenly as possible across the pan. Let them sit for a minute or two until the mushrooms sear slightly. Keep cooking, stirring only occasionally so that the mushrooms become golden brown, until the mushrooms are tender, about 10 more minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set them aside.

Just before you are ready to serve the salad, snip the watercress with scissors into bite-sized pieces and arrange it on a platter. (I prefer using scissors rather than a knife because it better keeps the shape of the cress).

If the mushrooms are no longer hot, heat them again in the pan over medium heat just long enough to get them piping hot. Scrape them out of the pan onto the watercress.

Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and, using a wooden spoon, scrape up any bits of mushroom. When the oil is hot, remove the pan from the heat. Add the vinegar, salt and pepper, and whisk. Drizzle the dressing over the mushrooms and watercress. Sprinkle the puffed rice over the top and serve immediately.

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