Crispy Cajun Style Mushrooms

serves

Serves 4

time

1 hour

level

Proficient

This mouth watering recipe really gets the most out of vegetables! The Spice Cajun flavour of the pulses works perfectly with the crispy mushrooms.

Recipe by @avantgardevegan

Ingredients

8 Portobello mushrooms
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Pinch sea salt & pepper

BATTER

1 cup/120g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 cup/125ml water
1 tbsp vegetable oil

COATING

1 cup/50g panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup/60g plain flour
1 tbsp Cajun spice mix
1 tbsp mixed herbs
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp cracked black pepper
Plus, 1 cup/250ml vegetable oil for frying

SERVE WITH

1 x 250g pouch of Merchant Cajun-Style Lentils & Red Kidney Beans
Corn on the cob
Greens

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C.
Place the mushrooms onto a roasting tray then drizzle over the oil & sprinkle with salt & pepper.
Roast the mushrooms in your oven for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix together the coating ingredients, in a shallow bowl.
Whisk together the batter ingredients in another bowl – adding enough water to make it a pancake
batter style consistency.
Also, have a third bowl or plate for a little extra flour, to dust the mushrooms. This insures the
batter will stick to them.
When the mushrooms are cooked remove them from the oven to cool slightly.
When they are cool enough to handle, individually dip each mushroom first into the flour then the
batter then into the cajun coating mixture, making sure they are coated all over evenly. Feel free to
double dip them to get a thicker coating.
Once coated, place the fillets back onto the roasting tray. You can now bake them at this stage for
25 minutes to avoid frying them. Or even freeze them for a later date.
To make them extra crispy, pre heat a large non stick frying pan over a medium heat & add the
frying oil. When the oil is hot (you can test by dropping in a bread crumb) add a couple of the
coated mushrooms. Fry them on both sides for 3-4 minutes. When they’re golden & crisp, remove
them from the oil & place them on to a plate lined with kitchen paper to soak up any excess oil.
Sprinkle over a little salt to keep them crisp until you’re ready to serve.
Serve the crispy mushrooms with your piping hot Merchant Gourmet Cajun-Style-Lentils, greens & corn on the cob.