Eddie Shepherd's Five-Spice Shitake Patties with Sunblush Tomato & Plum Puree, Toasted Sesame Baked Croutons and a Ginger & Plum Broth

This lush, umami-rich dish from award-winning veggie chef Eddie Shepherd, has strong oriental influences and is a twist on expected combinations and textures. It tastes fantastic, is incredibly moreish and features rich, intense flavours.

Serves 2 as a main course, with left over puree (which you can keep in the fridge and use as a condiment)

Shitake patties:

• 25g dried shitake mushrooms, rehydrated in 600ml boiling water (keep the liquid)
• 250g plain tofu
• 2 teaspoons plum, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 green chilli, deseeded & chopped
• 1 teaspoon Smoked Chipotle Tabasco Sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons ume plum seasoning
• 2 teaspoons five-spice
• 4 spring onions (scallions), diced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ginger, finely chopped
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 whole egg
• Mushroom salt for seasoning
• Sunflower oil for frying

1. Rehydrate the dried shitake mushrooms by pouring 600ml of boiling water over them and leaving them to soak for about half an hour. Drain the mushrooms and squeeze out any excess liquid then strain and reserve the liquid they were rehydrated in. Now fry the mushrooms in a little vegetable oil for 2/3 minutes and set to one side.

2. Drain the tofu and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Fry the garlic, shallots and chilli for 2 minutes on a medium heat then crumble the tofu into the pan and cook for a further 2 minutes. Place the mushrooms and tofu in a blender and blend for a minute to break them down.

3. Combine the blended ingredients in a bowl with the diced plum, ginger, Tabasco, soy, ume plum seasoning, five-spice, spring onion, lemon juice, eggs and 2 tablespoons of mushroom salt. Use normal salt if you can’t get mushroom salt.

4. Bring the mix together, form into small patties and fry in a little sunflower oil on a medium heat for about 2 minutes on each side until just crisp. Rest on kitchen towel, to absorb excess oil, for a minute before serving.

Sunbush tomato and plum puree:

• Reduce 200ml of the reserved shitake liquid to 25ml
• 150ml red wine (I use Merlot for this)
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 3 plums, chopped
• 100g sunblush tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon smoked salt
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1g citric acid
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 drops Tabasco sauce
• Tiny pinch smoked paprika

1. In a small pan bring all of the ingredients to the boil for a couple of minutes until the liquid reduces and begins to thicken. Lower the heat right down and cook for a further 20 minutes.

2. Blitz with immersion blender, pass through a fine sieve then blitz again until you have a smooth puree. Allow to cool before serving.

Ginger and plum froth:

• 2 tablespoons dried lemongrass
• 150g water
• 35g lemon juice
• 60g ginger juice (extracted by grating ginger then squeezing out the juice through muslin)
• 100g plum juice (puree chopped plums and squeeze juice through muslin)
• 20g caster sugar
• 4g Lecite (soy lecithin)
• Pinch salt

1. Add the dried lemongrass, 15g lemon juice and the sugar to the water and bring to the boil, then simmer for about ten minutes until the liquid has reduced to 140g. Set aside to cool and infuse, then strain and remove the lemongrass.

2. Mix the ginger juice, plum juice, rest of the lemon juice and a pinch of salt with the infused water and mix the liquids together with an immersion blender.

3. Add the lecite and froth with the immersion blender in a wide shallow bowl. Collect the froth from the top of the liquid.

Sesame toast:

• White bread – sliced about 1 ½ cm thick
• Toasted sesame oil
• Sesame seeds
• A little warmed honey

1. Cut 6-7cm circles from the bread with a pastry cutter. Coat each side of the circles with toasted sesame oil and bake in the oven at 200°C for 5 minutes.

2. Remove from the oven and brush a little of the warmed honey on the top of the disks. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and return to the oven for two minutes.

Garnish:

• One bunch spring onions (scallions)
• One bunch coriander

1. Top and tail the spring onions and cut in half length ways. Slice into thin strips and immerse in iced water and leave to curl up.

2. Wash the coriander and keep fresh in cold water.

Putting it all together:

1. For each plate alternate three of the shitake patties on top of three sesame croutons, laying them overlapping in a row in the centre of the plate.

2. Place drops of the sunblush tomato and plum puree around the edge of the plate and sit a spring onion curl on top of each one.

3. Place a little of the fresh coriander over the shitake steaks and finally delicately spoon a little of the ginger and plum froth over the coriander.

With thanks to Eddie Shepherd for providing this recipe to More than Mushrooms.