When the "Your Best Mushrooms" theme was announced a while ago, the thought of a mushroom mousse kept flitting through my head. After a quick search on the internet, I found Amanda Cohen’s recipe for Portobello Mousse with Cherries and Fennel Compote, Grilled Portobello Mushrooms, and Truffled Crostini (http://tinyurl.com/3wjx76f). Amanda Cohen is the chef/owner of Dirt Candy, a vegetarian restaurant in NYC. (Amanda’s Dirt Candy blog is a really fun read, btw.)
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<br />But the recipe didn’t indicate if the mushrooms are to be cooked, or left raw. So I searched some more and found Sarah Simmons' blog post (http://tinyurl.com/3gxrpcv) where she describes her obsession with the Dirt Candy Portobello Mousse and how she set out to recreate it. A little too daunting for my level of culinary expertise, I thought I’d just tackle the mousse part and see what I could adapt from Amanda’s sumptuous dish.
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<br />I tested so many versions…with and without gelatin, with and without cheese and aromatics, in the blender (which I hate washing) and in the food processor. But in the end, my favorite was this one, with its pure earthy mushroom-y aroma and taste, and smooth, mousse-like texture achieved with the mini-chopper.
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<br />Here, I've dressed up the mousse with a drizzle of aceto balsamico tradizionale di Modena and some parsley oil. The parsley oil is just slightly adapted from Bon Appétit’s recipe for Scallop and Bacon Chowder from Dec. ’01. It’s delicious.

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