Puffball mushroom crepe

My Charming Companion found a big puffball mushroom where he was hiking last week, so I got to experiment with it last weekend/this week. I have never eaten a puffball before, but they are pretty unmistakeable. I've seen one once, a soccer-sized ball stuck in the middle of a field. My friend Ella, who I was with at the time, saw the puffball and said, "There is fungus among us!" Which I now think of in direct correlation to puff balls.

Puffballs are usually white and round, often smooth, but sometimes a bit bumpy or warty. The one thing you want to verify to make sure it is a) a puffball and b) edible is to bisect the puffball down the middle (as in photo). It should be entirely white throughout, and the texture should also be the same consistency. If there are gills, you will see them immediately upon bisection and know that this is a very poisonous mushroom in your hands. If not, and if there are no brown, yellow or purple shades, forge ahead! One note - you need to remove the tough outer skin. The edge of the peel will be evident from your bisection and you can probably just peel it off with your fingers, but if not, a knife will work. Underneath will be this soft, poofy sort of delightful marshmallow-y substance.

Puffball slices

I was perusing the interwebs for some puffball ideas, and didn't actually get very far because early on I found a recipe that used sliced puffball as what they called a "fritter" but what I quickly realized could be like a crepe or tortilla of sorts. And of course I was immediately super excited about that option and discontinued all searching and decided to give it a try. Crepe/Tortilla/Wrap thingies are all I did with that big puffball because the opportunities for such items in my paleo/whole30 world are pretty non-existent. And really, a person does not come by puffballs very often, so when one does, I think crepes are a good idea!

I tried cooking the slices of puffball a few different ways: with a little extra oil, more on the dry side, thicker vs thinner, etc. I sort of settled on an in-between-ness. I never got to try baking them, but it seems another experiment for a future puffball.

Puffballs are very mild - almost like tofu in texture and flavor too. The flavor/texture of puffballs seems to be a favorite to eat with eggs, which is also how I ate mine. In terms of storgae, you want to keep them pretty dry - store the puffball halves in the refrigerator in an open bag so that they can breathe and don't get condensation in there. They don't last long, just a 4-5 days. Watch that they don't start to turn yellow/brown.

Puffball "crepe"

1. Slice your puffball into 1 cm thick slices, trying to be as uniform as you can.
2. Heat a small amount of fat in a large cast iron skillet. Turn the heat to medium and when the fat is hot, lay the puffball slice/s in a single layer. You are basically just pan-searing them for a minute or two on each side. You will notice the top side of the puffball will start to bead up with moisture as the first side cooks. Go ahead and flip it shortly after. I found that the slices could be cooked pretty dry - though they tended to stick to the pan a bit. They suck up the fat some, and get more wet with more fat. You can experiment with your preference, but I liked to go drier and risk the sticking.
3. Keep the puffball slices warm in the oven while you cook more slices, but note that they will continue to perspire a bit. If you want to keep them dry, it might be worth stacking them in layers of a tea towel or something (I did not try this).
4. Serve slices of puffball with scrambled eggs, thinly sliced pork belly or bacon, and sauteed veggies (onions and red pepper, roasted eggplant, roasted tomatoes, etc); or try them like a breakfast taco with sauteed pepper/onion, avocado, eggs, bacon and salsa. Fill each puffball piece with fillings, sprinkle salt and pepper on top, and consume!

Note: I think a crunchy something (as in bacon or pork belly) is more necessary to these crepes because the puffball is so soft and smooth. Texturally I just wanted the chewy crunch. And really, I don't need an excuse to add in some pork belly/bacon!