Skip to main content
Epicurious
Cookbooks

Gia's Mushrooms and Egg

By Olia Hercules
Image may contain Food Dish Meal Bowl Plant Animal Seafood Sea Life and Lobster
Photo by Elena Heatherwick

It was in the town of Signagi in the eastern Georgian region of Kakheti where I tried some of the most delicious and inventive, without being contrived, cooking. "Good food doesn’t have to be complicated, overworked," remarked Gia, head chef at an incredibly beautiful restaurant called Pheasant’s Tears. And I agree with him wholeheartedly. With a few wonderful ingredients, knowledge of tradition, and a creative mind like Gia's, Georgian cooking is taken to another level. This dish is so simple, but I would award it and the others that we tasted numerous stars and accolades. Just find excellent mushrooms, really good eggs, some aromatics, and a tiny bit of spice, and you have a beauty of a dish.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Serves 2 as a sharing starter

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 field mushrooms, brushed clean
7 oz (200 g) wild mushrooms, such as black trumpet mushrooms or chanterelles, brushed clean
1 egg
1 green chile, thinly sliced (keep the seeds if you like heat)
A few sprigs of rosemary in winter or tarragon in summer
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

    Step 2

    Heat the butter and oil in an ovenproof dish in the oven, or in an ovenproof frying pan on the stove top. Add the garlic and let it sizzle for a moment, just enough to release its aroma, then add all the mushrooms and spoon the sizzling fat over to cover them. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes, or cook on the stove top over medium-low heat, shaking from time to time, until the mushrooms have softened, about 5 minutes.

    Step 3

    Crack the egg into the middle of the dish or pan and sprinkle with the chile, herbs, and some salt and pepper. Cook in the oven until the whites are set and the yolk is cooked to your liking, 5–10 minutes.

Image may contain: Advertisement, Poster, Paper, Brochure, and Flyer
This recipe is excerpted from Kaukasis: A Culinary Journey through Georgia, Azerbaijan & Beyond © 2017 by Olia Hercules. Reprinted with permission by Weldon Owen. Buy the full book from Amazon.
TagsGeorgianEastern EuropeanEuropeanMushroomVegetableMainLunchDinnerGluten FreeNut FreeVegetarianKetoEasyQuick30 Minutes or LessWeeknight MealsCookbooks

See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips

Read More
Charred Vegetable Ragù
This sauce is slightly magical. The texture cloaks pasta much like a traditional meat sauce does, and the flavors are deep and rich, but it’s actually vegan!
Beef Stroganoff Ramen
This traditional dish of beef, sour cream, and mustard may have originated in Russia, but it’s about time for a version with ramen noodles, don’t you think?
Île Flottante
Originally called omelette à la neige (snow omelet) in reference to the fluffy snow-like appearance of the meringue, île flottante (floating island) has a lengthy history that dates back to the 17th century.
Smothered Italian Sausage
This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.
Smoky Tofu Shakshuka
This vegan version of the classic North African scramble uses soft silken tofu instead of eggs without any sacrifice of flavor.
Fufu
Fufu is a dish that has been passed down through many generations and is seen as a symbol of Ghanaian identity and heritage. Making fufu traditionally is a very laborious task; this recipe mimics some of that hard work but with a few home-cook hacks that make for a far easier time.
Chicken Croquettes
Rather than breaded and fried as you might expect croquettes to be, these are something more akin to a seared chicken salad patty.
Frijoles de la Olla Ramen (Mexican Stewed Beans)
Traditionally, this Mexican staple is simmered for hours in an olla, or clay pot. You can achieve a similar result by using canned beans and instant ramen.