Caesar's Mushroom - Amanita caesarea

Mushroom Caesar Salad
Serves 4.

Ingredients
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 anchovy fillets
2 large garlic cloves
2 teaspoons drained capers
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons prepared white horseradish
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes of hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
3/4 cup olive oil

1/2 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 large head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
2 cups purchased garlic-flavored croutons
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation
Blend first 8 ingredients in processor until almost smooth. Gradually add oil and process until thick dressing forms. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Toss mushrooms with 1/3 cup dressing in medium bowl. Let marinate 15 minutes. Place lettuce in large bowl. Add mushrooms, croutons and cheese. Toss with enough dressing to coat generously. Season salad with salt and pepper.

-- Lorraine Vassalo: Ottawa, Ontario Bon Appétit September 1995

Amanita caesarea (Caesar's Mushroom), is an edible mushroom in family Amanitaceae, native to southern Europe. The common name comes from its being a favorite of Roman emperors. Other names include Aminite de César, Oronge, or Kaiserling.

This mushroom has a tawny cap with a yellow stem and gills. It may be seated in a cup (remnant of universal veil) and have the remains of a partial veil hanging from the stipe. The base of the stipe is thicker than the top. The spores are white. This mushroom favours oak woodland, sometimes mixed with conifers.

It has also been classified as A. umbonata. The relationship of the similar North American species A. hemibapha and A. jacksonii to A. caesaria is not clear. Moreover, the edibility of North American species is also unclear

5 things you didn't know about mushrooms:

Margo Kraus, a registered dietitian and consultant for The Mushroom Council, advises:

1. 20 calories: Just a handful of mushrooms may be nature's hidden treasure for healthier meals. Mushrooms have essential nutrients that are good for heart health and help boost immunity. With just 20 calories per serving, they have fewer calories than a rice cake.

2. Flavor: Mushrooms have umami -- the fifth taste. They add savory flavor when paired with other foods.

3. Vitamin D: Mushrooms contain 4 percent of the daily value of vitamin D. No other fresh vegetable or fruit has vitamin D.

4. Good for you: Mushrooms' antioxidant capacity is comparable to that of brightly colored vegetables such as zucchini, carrots, red peppers and broccoli.

5. Hold the burger: Data suggests if men substituted a 4-ounce grilled portabello mushroom for a 4-ounce grilled hamburger over the course of a year and didn't change anything else, they could save more than 18,000 calories and nearly 3,000 grams of fat. That's the equivalent of 5.3 pounds, or 30 sticks of butter.

Although Fungi were once considered to be part of the plant kingdom, most experts now consider them to be a separate Kingdom or phylum. There are estimated to be over 100,000 different fungi, most of which form only tiny threads (Hypha) that can only be seen through a microscope. Of these, about 20,000 are considered to be high fungi or macro fungi, i.e. those that produce visible fruiting bodies. Only these are of any interest to the fungi enthusiast and covered in any detail, mostly of which belong to the subdivision Ascomycotina and Basidiomycotina.

Species of fungi are divided into the following three categories
1 - Mycorrhizal fungi form a partnership with some plants,but mostly with living trees.
2 - Parasitic fungi prefer the living host; this category is fairly small.
3 - Saprophytic fungi prefer dead and decaying material.

Mycorrhizal
Mycorrhizal fungi form a partnership mainly with trees but also with some plants, but rather then harming the tree, their presence significantly increases the roots' effectiveness. Fungi send their hyphae in and about the little rootlets of the tree until its difficult to tell them apart. The tree supplies the mycelium with moisture and carbohydrates, and the mycelium returns the favour with minerals and other nutrients from the surrounding soil. Mycorrhiza fungi are beneficial both in nature and agriculture; plants with them tend to grow better than those without.

Parasitic
Parasitic fungi are the second largest group, of whose members do a lot of serious damage. Rather than obtaining their food from dead animals or plants, they prefer a living host, often attacking and killing, it then living on as a saprophytic fungi.

Saprophytic
Saprophytic fungi are the largest group of fungi, they growing on dead organic matter such as fallen trees, cow patties, dead leaves, and even dead insects and animals. These fungi have enzymes that work to "rot" or "digest" the cellulose and lignin found in the organic matter, with the lignin being an important source of carbon for many organisms. Without their digestive activities, organic material would continue to accumulate until the forest became a huge rubbish dump of dead leaves and trees.