There’s been quite a bit of buzz in our local food community about Whispering Creek Mushroom Farm. We’ve had limited access to exotic mushrooms, locally raised. Now and then, a few farms devoted primarily to raising vegetables have inoculated logs with shiitake mushroom spores, and sold the tasty results at the market. Even rarer, friends have foraged and found chanterelles they’ve been willing to share.

Now, we have great and frequent options.

Whispering Creek is our first Mushroom Only farm, located in Gallatin Tennessee, just north of Nashville. Back in the fall, I learned about their project. Over the winter, they began selling their goods to area chefs. Now, they are ramped up enough to sell to the public.

For the past two weeks, I’ve had the good fortune to buy their gorgeous Oyster Mushrooms through our Fresh Harvest Co-op.

Don’t these look amazing? Within the oyster mushroom family, Pleutorus ostreatus, there are many members–Blue, Golden, Phoenix, Italian, Pearl…

Each cluster is like a little village, with its own personality.

The elongated scallop shape of its cap, rather than its taste, gives the oyster mushroom its name. Although, preparing in butter with a little lemon and wine, releases a sweet, subtle anise essence and silkiness that you associate with the bivalve.

Most of the mushroom is edible, and I like to tear it into pieces, rather than use a knife. The woody bits can be made into a stock.

I should note that oyster mushrooms are packed with nutrients: zinc, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, folic acid, Vitamins B-1, B-2, C, and niacin.

Plus ergothioneine, a unique immune-boosting antioxidant.

There are so many good ways to showcase these beauties–in a risotto, entwined in ribbon pasta, scrambled into eggs, or sauteed and piled onto buttery toast. These mushrooms like stocks, fortified wines, and dairy. It’s an easy temptation to give over to dousing them in a pan of heavy cream.

For our Sunday brunch, I decided they’d be perfect cooked then rolled into a crepe.

I sauteed our oyster ’shrooms in butter, with some green onions, lemon zest, Marsala, and thyme. In the end, I tossed in a few knobs of cream cheese–a small but concentrated amount of dairy. It was just enough to melt into the mass and give it more body.

I resisted the temptation to make a sauce to top them. The mushroom saute was rich enough. In fact, it was hard not to grab a fork and just eat them out of the skillet!

Instead, I braised an array of greens, as a bed or base for the filled crepe. That slight bitterness brought balance, and another healthful element.

OYSTER MUSHROOMS IN BUTTER, LEMON, AND MARSALA
1/2 lb. Oyster Mushrooms, brushed clean and torn (or sliced into chunky pieces)
3 Green Onions, sliced
3 T. Butter
1 T. Lemon Zest
Juice of one Lemon
1/2 cup Marsala wine (cooking wine or sherry is acceptable)
1 T. fresh Thyme leaves
Salt
Black Pepper
2-3 T. Cream Cheese

Melt butter in skillet on medium heat. Add mushrooms and green onions. Saute for 5 minutes–mushrooms will soften and brown on the edges. Stir in lemon zest and juice.
Season with salt and black pepper. Pour in marsala wine and stir well. Mixture will reduce. Sprinkle in fresh thyme leaves. Add the cream cheese, in small knobs, into the mixture. Stir and fold, so that the cream cheese melts away into a creamy mushroomy mass. Add more marsala, or water, if mixture gets too thick.

Remove from heat.

SAVORY CREPE MIXTURE
3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
3 Eggs
3 T. Unsalted Butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 c. Milk
1 t. Salt

1 T. Butter–to grease the skillet

Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, or immersion blender container, and blend very well, for 3-5 minutes. The mixture will seem like cream. Cover and refrigerated for at least 30 minutes–although you can make this batter a day in advance.

Heat your skillet–a 6″ sized pan is ideal. Brush with butter. Ladle a small quantity-3 Tablespoons–into the center, and tip the skillet so it spreads thinly over the surface. The crepe should be thin-thin! It will set up quickly. When the edges are browned, flip the crepe and cook for a minute more. Slide out onto a plate and repeat the process.

if the batter gets too thick, dilute it with a little water–beat well.

This recipe made 10 large crepes (I used a 9″ pan) , but would make 16 small (from 6″ pan)

BRAISED SAVORY GREENS a bed for the mushroom crepes
1 cup Kale, deribbed and chopped
1 cup Baby Spinach, chopped
1 cup Swiss Chard, coarsely chopped
3 cloves minced Garlic
3 T. Olive Oil
1 t. Sea Salt
Red Pepper Flakes–a few pinches

Place all cleaned and chopped greens into a deep pot, along with garlic, olive oil, salt and red pepper flakes. Bring up heat to just under medium. Cover and simmer until greens are collapsed and tender, about 12 minutes.

ASSEMBLY
Lay out cooked crepes onto a work surface. Place a few spoonfuls of mushroom mix at one end and roll. Place into a skillet or casserole dish. Repeat until you’ve used up all the mushrooms. Gently heat crepes in the skillet or in the oven.

Serve over warm bed of braised greens. Garnish with shredded pecorino romano.

1. Nancy Says:
   March 12th, 2012 at 4:37 pm

   wow, those mushrooms look just-picked! so fresh. how wonderful to have a mushroom-only farm in your area. and the crepes – magnificent. i want them for dinner tonight :)

2. Emily @Cleanliness Says:
   March 12th, 2012 at 6:38 pm

   How GORGEOUS this all is! I am so impressed :)

3. Nic@diningwithastud Says:
   March 12th, 2012 at 7:08 pm

   What beautiful flavours! I luuuurve mushrooms

4. Kath Says:
   March 13th, 2012 at 3:34 am

   Oh my goodness my mouth is watering. I could just eat these right now.

5. Epicurea Says:
   March 13th, 2012 at 5:08 am

   very interesting info about the health benefits of oyster mushrooms, thanks for sharing! and yes, they do look like cute little smurf villages :-)

6. Barbara Says:
   March 13th, 2012 at 6:13 am

   What a beautiful dish! I used oyster mushrooms in my post this week too. Does the farm you spoke of grow morels? They are so rare, but I know they can be grown in farms.

7. goodfoodmatters Says:
   March 13th, 2012 at 6:16 am

   Hi Barbara–I am supposed to go visit this farm soon (to write a story for a magazine) so I will be finding out. I think they grow mostly oyster varieties, and a real exotic called Lion’s Mane! I’m on my way to your blog to read about your oyster mushroom recipe!

8. Maggie Says:
   March 13th, 2012 at 6:17 am

   A beautiful, springtime brunch!! I just love your blog, Nance – it’s always a pleasure to read and enjoy!

9. gg loyd Says:
   March 13th, 2012 at 6:43 am

   this is my idea of a PERFECT meal, thanks so much for posting!!!

10. Helene Dsouza I Masala Herb Says:
    March 13th, 2012 at 10:54 am

    omg u r soo lucky to get all those wonderful mushrooms. They look like they came straight out of wonderland, such an amazing growth! Your crepes look amazing, I would love to try them out. thx for the great share! =)

11. Juliana Says:
    March 13th, 2012 at 12:56 pm

    Wow Nancy, these crepes filled with mushrooms look great…love the creamy mushrooms. Beautiful pictures as well.
    Hope you are having a great week :)

12. Denise | Chez Danisse Says:
    March 13th, 2012 at 1:03 pm

    Nancy, you really have me craving mushrooms, oyster mushrooms…

13. Mary Says:
    March 13th, 2012 at 1:45 pm

    This looks so unbelievably delicious. I adore mushrooms and I’m trying not to be crazy jealous of all of yours right now! What a beautiful meal.

14. Michele | Cooking At Home Says:
    March 13th, 2012 at 7:01 pm

    Those braised greens look like the perfect foil to those savory crepes. How fortunate to be able to get such beautiful mushrooms. Enjoy.

15. Katie@Cozydelicious Says:
    March 13th, 2012 at 7:17 pm

    Yum! These crepes look amazing. I need to make crepes more often – and that mushroom filling is making my mouth water.

16. Tammy Says:
    March 13th, 2012 at 8:48 pm

    Absolutely gorgeous Nancy! I am also jealous of your access to mushrooms.

17. Teresa/foodonfifth.com Says:
    March 14th, 2012 at 4:41 am

    Wow, I adore the way these mushrooms look. They look like fantastic coral or some exotic air plant found on trees in the jungles of South America. Isn’t nature amazing?
    Your crepes are a wonderful way to showcase these morsels. I so look forward to seeing more of the mushroom offerings from Whispering Creek. Thanks for sharing.

18. Kiran @ KiranTarun.com Says:
    March 14th, 2012 at 10:43 am

    Yummy! That’s a gourmet version of crepes. Love oyster mushrooms :)

19. Caroline Says:
    March 14th, 2012 at 11:07 am

    Oh yum! So decadent and delicious, Nancy. The photo of the mushrooms is gorgeous, they’re all so unique!

20. Christine @ Fresh Says:
    March 14th, 2012 at 8:06 pm

    Those oyster mushroom clusters are so beautiful! What a great idea to create a mushroom stuffing for crepes. I can only imagine how great the buttery marsala sauce must have tasted.

21. Faith Says:
    March 15th, 2012 at 7:51 am

    I love a good savory mushroom-filled crepe and these look wonderful! The oysters are gorgeous.

22. Nicole Says:
    March 16th, 2012 at 5:44 pm

    Oh bliss, oh bliss, oh bliss. That’s all my taste buds are thinking right now.

23. FOODESSA Says:
    March 17th, 2012 at 3:58 pm

    At this point it’s a toss up between what I’d pick to have right now…the capture of those mushrooms or the recipe for those incredibly appetizing stuffed crepes?
    Wait a minute…I guess cyber world can give us at least some partial satisfaction…and the rest, I’ll have to take care of with your recipe in hand ;o)

    Have a lovely weekend Nancy.

    Ciao for now,
    Claudia

24. Simply Life Says:
    March 18th, 2012 at 10:08 am

    I’ve planning to give my first attempt at crepes tonight- so glad I saw this!

25. Ellie Says:
    March 18th, 2012 at 7:32 pm

    I love oyster mushrooms. What a great way to prepare them!

26. Kitchen Belleicious Says:
    March 19th, 2012 at 5:34 am

    to die for! Seriously, people would fight over these crepes in my house! I love that you filled them with the mushroom filling. Genius. It all sounds so delicious and rich and flavorful!

27. Tracy Says:
    March 19th, 2012 at 1:33 pm

    You really know how to swaddle a mushroom. Takes me back to last fall when I ate foraged mushrooms for the very first time. The most delicious mushroom I’ve ever eaten. Butter. White wine. Parsley. Tasted like steak. Oh my. I do love mushrooms.

28. anh@anhsfoodblog.com Says:
    March 21st, 2012 at 9:00 pm

    beautiful recipe! I love good savoury crepes!

29. mushventure Says:
    October 24th, 2012 at 4:05 pm

    I have an oyster mushroom project that needs to have funding. I need your support. Go to indiegogo and search for oyster mushroom and there you can see my oyster mushroom campaign. http://www.indiegogo.com/oystermushroom

30. uber fan Says:
    August 13th, 2013 at 9:43 pm

    These mushrooms are at the 12 south farmers market and Good food Saturday mkt off Charlotte by the library!!!

31. goodfoodmatters Says:
    August 14th, 2013 at 4:48 am

    Excellent–I’m so glad to know I can get these again. Thanks!