Puffball Parmigiana
This puffball parmigiana recipe is a delicious way to showcase your finest giant puffball mushroom find. Slices of puffball mushroom are sliced, breaded, and fried, then served on a bed of buttered spaghetti and layered with marinara sauce and melty cheese. These are best assembled just before serving, though you can also layer the slices, sauce, and cheese, bake, slice, and serve with the pasta to make this ahead of time or for a crowd... the mushroom breading won't be crispy but it will still be delicious!
Equipment
- knife & cutting board
- large frying pan
- pasta pot and strainer
Ingredients
Southern Fried Puffball Mushroom Slices
- 1 med-large giant puffball mushroom
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup flour (divided)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup dry bread crumbs or panko
- ⅔ cup cornmeal
- 2 tsp italian seasoning or 50/50 oregano and basil
- ½ tsp paprika (smoked paprika is nice if you have it)
- peanut, grapeseed, or vegetable oil (enough to make 1" of oil in frying pan) (can substitute lard or tallow, or a blend of high-temperature oils and light olive oil)
Pasta and Sauce
- 1 quart marinara sauce
- 8 oz shredded Italian cheese blend or mozzarella
- 3 oz grated Parmesan cheese
- 16 oz spaghetti (can serve on linguine or spaghetti rigati)
- 2 tbsp butter
- salt for pasta water I never measure this, just pour a few tablespoons of kosher salt into the pasta water. It should taste mildly salty, but not like brine.
Instructions
- Wash, brush off, or peel your mushroom if the outside is dirty. Otherwise, slice the mushroom into ¾" thick slices, aiming for uniform thickness. Sprinkle the mushrooms lightly with kosher salt on both sides and let them sit while you prepare the seasoned flour, egg wash, and breadcrumbs for your breading.
- Whisk the eggs together in a small wide bowl (large enough to hold one or two slices of mushroom in the egg wash) with a few tablespoons of milk or water and a pinch of salt (about ½ tsp).
- Sprinkle half the flour into a small shallow pan or dish, and season it with a pinch of salt and some fresh black pepper. Pat the mushroom slices lightly with a paper towel or clean cloth if they are damp, then coat the mushroom slices lightly with the flour on both sides, laying them into the dish and dusting them well to coat as evenly as possible. Set them aside on a sheet pan, in a single layer if possible.
- Add the rest of the flour, the cornmeal, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, and paprika to the pan or dish that you used to flour the mushrooms and shake gently or stir to combine.
- Dip the floured mushroom slices into the egg mixture (turning them to wet both sides and then into the breading. Try to keep one hand for the dry side and one hand for the wet side, or use a fork or flat slotted spoon to help dip the slices in the egg, or you will end up with balls of breading on your fingers. If it gets too messy, stop and rinse your hands and start again. If your mushroom is very large, you may need to make up more breading mixture or save the rest of your mushroom slices in the fridge for another recipe. If you end up with leftover breading and it's not too wet, you can freeze it and use it again later.
- Heat about 1" of oil in a large, heavy pan (cast iron is best if you have it) on medium to medium-high heat. When the oil is beginning to shimmer, carefully start frying your slices of mushroom. You can test the oil with a small piece of mushroom or the handle of a wooden spoon (small bubbles of air will form on the wooden spoon handle if the oil is hot)- you want the oil to bubble up around the edges and brown the breading quickly but not be hot enough to burn your oil or the breading. If the oil isn't hot enough though, your mushrooms will soak up a lot of oil and be soggy. Lay the mushrooms gently into the pan away from you, and also be careful to flip them away from you as well, so you don't get splashed with oil. A steel mesh lid or frying cover can help make this less messy if you have one.
- Keep frying the mushroom slices in batches until they are all browned. Set the rest aside and hot in a warm oven or stove-top, and let them drain on wire racks or paper towel-lined sheet pans, in a single layer if possible so they don't get soggy.
- As you are finishing the mushrooms, heat a pot of lightly salted water to cook your pasta, and heat up the marinara sauce. Stir the marinara occasionally so it doesn't scorch. Cook the pasta al dente according to the package directions (usually 9-13 minutes, depending on the thickness of your pasta), drain immediately, and toss with a couple tablespoons of butter or good olive oil.
- Distribute the pasta into the wide bowls or serving plates. Top each with a ladle of sauce, then one or several slices of fried mushrooms, then another ladle of sauce, and finally, finish with a handful of grated cheese and a sprinkle of Parmesan.
- Pop the assembled plates under the broiler, or in a hot oven just long enough to melt the cheese, and serve immediately.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
