Serves 2
Cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Spice mix for mushrooms:

15g paprika,3g cayenne,10g ground cumin,10g onion powder,10g garlic powder, 9g coarseground black pepper, 8g fine sea salt, 5g ground ginger, 100g flour (wheat, corn, gluten free, rice etc to suit), 100g water

Salad: 

1 kohlrabi,1 cucumber, ½ bunch mint, ½ bunch coriander

Dressing/pickle:

100g apple cider or white wine vinegar, 100g sugar, 100g water, a thumb of sliced ginger (or 2 tsps ground)

Preparation method:

Mushroom prep:

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  • Use 3 to 4 large flat mushrooms per person. I recommend Oyster, Lion’s Mane or Coral.
  • Weigh out your flour and mix with equal weight of water to create a batter.
  • Weigh out the other spices and mix thoroughly.
  • Dip your mushrooms in the batter and then dredge in the spice mix.
  • Shallow fry the spiced mushrooms in a frying pan on a medium heat, turning frequently to ensure even cooking. Drain the mushrooms on a paper towel to remove excess oil. Season with sea salt.

Salad prep:

  • Combine pickled dressing ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to the boil. Cool to room temperature and pour over sliced and peeled kohlrabi ribbons (a mandolin works best but a peeler is also good). Add the fresh herbs.
  • Stack your crispy mushrooms on top of your sweet and sour pickled salad and enjoy!

Chef hack: Source the best mushrooms you can find. The Crown uses locally grown exotic varieties cultivated at Basil’s Fungi Farm, based in the Yard, Queens Rd. If you want something similar from a grocer/supermarket, look for oyster mushrooms, shitake or large portobello. If you want a quicker readymade spice mix, pick up a jar of cajun seasoning or fajita spice, they will work just as well. Save any leftover spice mix, which is gluten free and plant based, to use with other types of vegetables such as cauliflower and broccoli.

Andrew Swan and James Favell are chefs at The Crown Hastings, @thecrownhastings If you like the sound of this recipe and want to try it dining out; the Crown is currently serving ‘Crispy chilli coral & oyster mushrooms, pickled kohlrabi, mint, ginger & cucumber salad, mushroom satay’.


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https://www.hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Andrew-Swan-Crispy-chilli-fried-mushrooms-with-pickled-kohlrabi-ginger-and-cucumber-salad-768x1024.jpghttps://www.hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Andrew-Swan-Crispy-chilli-fried-mushrooms-with-pickled-kohlrabi-ginger-and-cucumber-salad-150x150.jpgHIPFood & DrinkAndrew Swan,James FavellServes 2 Cooking time: 30 mins Ingredients: Spice mix for mushrooms: 15g paprika,3g cayenne,10g ground cumin,10g onion powder,10g garlic powder, 9g coarseground black pepper, 8g fine sea salt, 5g ground ginger, 100g flour (wheat, corn, gluten free, rice etc to suit), 100g water Salad:  1 kohlrabi,1 cucumber, ½ bunch mint, ½ bunch coriander Dressing/pickle: 100g apple...The Hastings & St Leonards non-profit community newspaper