Growing up as a traditional Italian you learn a few things when you look back at life: 1) if you are an Italian Woman and your mom shares recipe with you, or your grandmother shares it with you, suddenly it is like your lips are supposed to wear a chastity belt, and that secret it never to come out. 2)
If another family prepares a dish better than your, you better figure out what they are doing, after all your Italian Heritage is riding on it! What Crap! Life is short, luxurious and lavish its time to celebrate recipes and I love sharing secrets, so get ready for the best secret of all and if those Aunts don’t approve of the sharing well too bad!
Are you ready to lavishly live food out loud and enjoy this Italian specialty handed down from generation to generation?The Italian Game is not sharing how to prepare this meal and the real challenge is which version you will use!
Godzilla Fungus Recipe
If you have never heard of the titled recipe, you are not alone, in fact, Godzilla Fungus is probably not the real name of this traditional Italian Dish. This is a mixture of Escarole and some other ingredients to make a mouth-tantalizing combination.
I love cooking and creating in the kitchen and when we were first married and I heard this name I could not get beyond the name: Godzilla Fungus. Honestly what a funky name for a food “Godzilla’s fungus!”
What makes up the Godzilla Fungus Recipe? What makes this a really tasty dish that is low in calories but simply divine and delectable with a great glass of red or white wine? Well, I’m going to let you in on an Italian traditional secret of Godzilla Fungus Recipe.
Italian Is As Italian Does….. Take It To The Grave
I asked all of the Italian Aunts who prepared the Godzilla Fungus Recipe how to create it each time we were at a family gathering and I pretty much got nowhere. Each Aunt gave me a different answer on preparation as though this were some golden secret that no one should have.
No Straight Answers, Thanks, ladies!
One Aunt told me to boil the ingredients, another told me to go microwave the recipe, yet get another told me not cook the ingredients at all until the final step. As usual, these Italian ladies would prefer to take the recipe to their grave rather than kick it up!
I never could get a straight answer and as you know that is not an unlikely circumstance as in most Italian families these traditional recipes are secretive. After trying the way each Aunt told me, and then flopping multiple times I refused to heed and I considered it more of a challenge.
The Veggie Dish Needs To be Shared
Why should THEY all enjoy a delicious veggie dish and no one else? One day the Aunt’s served the dish at a party again, I played with it on my plate, I felt the texture, and I looked at the escarole leaves to see in fact how they might have been cooked.
What I have found is that in fact none of their styles were true to the cause, there are a few different methods to make this it is just only amount of time that you have and how dry you want this mixture.
This does take a little time, patience, and effort but the end result is definitely worth the preparation. Escarole can make or break this dish, don’t buy old sloppy seconds, make sure yours is fresh from the outer leaves to the inside core.
CRISP, FRESH & MINTY
Get a nice crisp escarole, and a lot of fresh mint and really fresh Garlic Cloves. I grow mint in my backyard, so I have it available. The problem with mint is that if you read it will take over a garden spot, or an area. To control it I planted inside of a planter and put the plants are in the ground then it does not spread.
Now that we are passed the mint situation, you might want to know that you can purchase MINT in the herb section of produce and at so many local greenhouses and produce stores. I love those BIG garlic cloves for this, sometimes Elephant Garlic but other times just over-sized pieces rather than little tiny ones because you have to peel, half and quarter the garlic to get the taste!
What is Godzilla FuRecipe?
Godzilla Fungus Recipe is an Escarole Dish, with a crisp finish(sounds like a wine right?). Godzilla Fungus Recipe can be a stand-alone meal, a combination meal with a salad and fresh chunks of Italian Ciabatta or serve it up with some fresh seafood or bistecca.
Tips for the Escarole
Wash, Rinse, Repeat, then soak in a bit of salted water, and Wash, Rinse, Repeat. Escarole often has SAND In it and the grit in a bite of this will take away from the overall appeal of the meal.
Use Flavored Bread Crumbs when you add them in, plain have nothing to add to the basic flavor, so a little spice in the crumbs seasons it just a tad!
I highly suggest cleaning the escarole, boiling the escarole, boiling the garlic, and boiling half of the mint altogether. Draining and straining the water will result in a dryer Godzilla Fungus Recipe and trust me the dryer the better.
Brown Eye BS
I have tried frying the mixtures as one Aunt directed me to do, and I have to be honest, I think her eyes are Brown for a reason, so I redirected my method of cooking and what I have found is a most wonderful recipe. As you know Italians love to make more work out of something and pretend like they did way more than it actually took and that is what I found here
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Godzilla Fungus Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Medium Sized Heads of Escarole
- 2 Nice Sized Garlic Cloves
- 4 Tbsp Of Extra Virgin Olive Oil + 2 Tbsp
- 3 Tbsp- 5 Tbsp Of Italian Flavored Bread Crumbs
- 12 Sprigs of Mint
- 1 Tbsp of Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tsp of Mediterranean Sea Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. First Wash the escarole thoroughly. Use a colander and cut the base of the escarole off, separate all leaves on the escarole and rinse well. You can soak the escarole once all leaves are separated in a salt bath, that may help alleviate some of the sand, and then rinse again. Drain Escarole Well, the less water the better.
- Next, Take the leaves off of the mint sprigs and hopefully you will end up with about one cup of mint leaves. Rinse these and pat to dry.
- In a large bowl, place mint 3/4 of the mint and all the escarole.
- Mix this combination well and cut it into many small pieces, I use Kitchen Scissors for this task.
- Peel garlic, cut in half and then quarter and add into the mixture of escarole and mint.
- Grab a 4 Quart Sauce Pan, fill 1/2 with water add the escarole, mint and garlic, cover and boil till tender. Take a look at my photos to see the boiling process and coloration.
- Once the mixture is tender drain in a colander and press out all the excess water, either with your hands or pressing hard against the greens to the colander to get the water out.
- Add this mixture to a mixing bowl, add in bread crumbs and mix well. You will note that this will look a bit pasty in texture that is right!
- Prepare a round baking Pan(mine is 10") with olive oil(the 4 Tbsp), making sure all the pan is covered.
- Add the Bowled mixture to the pan and spread evenly so mixture is thin and even across pan.
- Place the 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil and the 1 Tbsp of Red Wine Vinegar Across, sprinkle salt and Bake.
- Occasionally as top browns, bring out of the oven, chop up, flip and return to oven, doing this a few times to make sure that it all browns and dries. If you prefer more salt, add more than the amount I listed and turn.
- Bake for about 45 Minutes(turning as needed) until brown and crispy. Serve Warm on crusty bread or eat cold.
More Gotta Know
I don’t fry the mixture from the point that is made in the bowl because you have to mix-in flour to get it to dry up and you have to flip it like a large pancake. Also, the potential for burning is always looming(trust me, tried it, do not like the frying method).
I find that microwaving the escarole takes something out of the boiling stage and again it is an epic fail. I like to quickly boil this combo on the stove, drain and then bake. The baking method makes it crisp, allows me to turn it all evenly and brown and I can walk away from it for an about 15 minutes. I don’t worry that it will flop either.
Since I grow mint, I tend to make this dish more in the spring and summer than at any other point in time, but mint is available in most produce sections year round. I also freeze my mint therefore if I want this treat I can make it. Use more mint than you think you need it will not overpower it, rather it will give it a better flavor.
Thanks No Thanks – School Of Italian Hard Knocks
I will never ever worry about the secret that the aunts that would not share, because I cracked the code and got it just right. Sometimes a push into a challenge is just what it takes. All I can say not is Manga Bene, ridi spesso, amo molto – IN English: Eat Well, Laugh Often, Love Much. Lavishly live food out loud with the Godzilla Fungus Recipe and enjoy this delicious spin on fresh Escarole and Mint.