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Yes, baked Shitake mushrooms with  sea salt and olive oil taste like bacon. It’s very cool and is a great substitute for you vegetarians looking for the elusive taste of bacon.

Ingredients:

For Shitake Mushroom Bits

Recipe from Chef Elliot Prag via Sciencentral.com (CLICK FOR LINK AND VIDEO)

Ingredients:
• 1⁄2 pound shitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
• 1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Cooking instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a bowl combine the mushrooms, oil, and salt.
3. Spread mushrooms on a parchment-lined baking sheet and place in oven.
4. Roast mushrooms until dry and crisp, stirring about every 10 minutes, approximately 45 minutes to one hour. (Oven temperatures may vary.)

For Tofu

-1 firm tofu sliced in half as shown, press to take most of the water out
-6 or 7 garlic cloves
-Extra virgin olive oil
-Rosemary
-Basil
-Oregano
-Salt
-Black pepper, ground

Once the tofu has been pressed to take away most of the water place in a bowl with olive oil, rosemary, basil, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Let marinade for 15 minutes then transfer over liquid to the pan, dump in the garlic and on medium heat infuse the oil. Place the tofu in the pan and cook each side for 4-5 minutes on med-high heat. Remove, let rest then chop up into cubes and pour a little more olive oil and salt. Take the liquid from the pan you just cooked, pour it in a mug then give it an ice bath. Add a little vinegar then pour over your salad.

Crunch up the shitake a little more to make  a bacon like bit. Serve over a salad then mix together the tofu.

Eric’s tip for the shitake mushrooms:   When you slice the mushrooms don’t slice them too thin or they will cook a lot faster than the recommended hour. I sliced them too thin and had to pull them at the 45 minute mark. They tasted fantastic and I highly recommend them.

Eric