Oyster Mushroom Po'Boy Sandwich

Oyster mushrooms are one of those exotic fungi that I usually toss together with other plebian mushrooms because I don't know anything else to do with them. All that changes with this po'boy - crispy oven toasted mushrooms with lettuce and a spicy aioli sauce. I may never be the same again!

Growing like shingles from a main stem, oyster mushrooms are gorgeous to look at and even more delicious to eat. Sure you can toss them in a stir-fry, but this recipe looks decadent and really isn't, as long as you don't bathe the bread in the aioli!

While this version is vegetarian, using cheese and eggs in the batter and breading, you can easily veganize it by using nutritional yeast in the breading instead of Asiago cheese and egg replacer or a slurry of ground flax seeds for the eggs. Vegan aioli is easy to duplicate if you add pressed garlic to vegannaise. I added a few drops of my favorite hot sauce but that's up to you.

Oyster Mushroom Po'Boy Sandwich (inspired by Chow Vegan)
(makes 4 sandwiches)

1 lb oyster mushrooms
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup coarse cornmeal (polenta)
1/4 cup finely grated Asiago or other hard cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
several grinds fresh pepper
3 eggs
4 soft rolls
aioli (see recipe here)
lettuce for sandwiches

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Carefully break mushrooms off of stem to create individual pieces. Combine bread crumbs, cornmeal, cheese and salt and pepper. Using left hand dip mushroom in egg and place in breadcrumb mixture, scooping mixture on top of mushroom with right hand and coating well, shaking off excess. Place on baking sheet and repeat process with remaining mushrooms. Spray with cooking oil (use the Mister if you have it), for 10 minutes. Turn mushrooms over and spray with oil and bake another 5 minutes. Place lettuce on bottom of soft roll, add mushrooms and drizzle with aioli and add top.

Hugs!

Recipes currently inspiring me:

Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa Salad at Closet Cooking
Chipotle Black Bean Soup with Avocado Cream at Eats Well With Others
Homemade Vegan Sausage and Cheese Calzones at Olives for Dinner