Vegan Scallops and Morels Au Gratin

I've tippy-toed around my past experiences with hallucinogenic mushrooms. I've alluded, evaded and maybe told a little white lie or two. Thankfully, they make my Jewish nose grow any larger. The time has come for me to air my dirty laundry: I used to love magic mushrooms aka psylocybin. I adamently denied that my marijuana was a "gateway" to sampling other mind-altering goodies. I resolved never to end up as the DARE program-poster child with knotted bleached hair, 20 lbs underweight, covered in track marks and lives in a van down by the river. 

Alas, curiosity is deeply rooted in the rebellious teenage psyche. After my friends told me about their wonderful, life-changing 'shroom experiences, I let down my guard. It was 6 years ago today, to be exact, that I had my first experience with magic mushrooms. After dark on July 4th, 2003, my friends and I tripped balls on the empty golf course adjacent to my childhood home. It turned into a whole new physical and existential world. We had epiphanies, found deeper meaning in the patterns of clouds and fireworks, and realized life was truly "All good, man." 

Over the next two years, I stopped taking the SSRI that was not helping me while psilocybin helped me know what true joy, gratitude and soul-satiety felt like. I was realizing that if took enough journeys to the realm where my inner truth was unrestrained, I'd master feeling that inner peace and universal connectivity while sober. Six years, one stint in rehab and several years of 90% sobriety later, I now know it actually worked. 

I've matured and found joy in many other ways, too. There are no cure-all, quick-fixes to the ups and downs of life. The good, bad and everything in between just Exist, and I need find comfort in the uncomfortable. I still have a little "fun" once or twice a year, but it's clear my journey with mushrooms is complete. I take much more satisfaction from reality-induced clarity than the kind produced by a substance. 

My love for cooking with foraged mushrooms has grown right by my side. Instead of being concerned about how they make me feel, I'm much more immersed in how they taste. Following a three-day search that definitely felt like a drug hunt, I was finally able to score a pound of 'shrooms. And not just any 'shrooms, but the highly-coveted, rare, delicious morel mushrooms. After trips to 4 specialty grocery stores and over 5 phone calls, a nice man in the produce department at the West Hollywood Whole Foods hooked me up with a pound of this gold:

 

Expect a series of recipes with these little treasures over the next few weeks. I'm going to use them all, even if I spend the next four days over a hot oven in the middle of July. For the Tofu Scallops, I used a 50/50 blend of Plain and Garlic Pepper Tofu from a purveyor of fine soy products called Tofu Yu located in Berkeley, CA. Their artisanal tofu is some the best I've eaten. I wish they were available closer to home.

 

Vegan Scallops and Morels Au Gratin

• 1 batch Tofu Scallops
• 8 tsp fresh Lemon Juice
• 2 TBSP White Vinegar, divided
• 1/3 cup Vegan Breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp Vegan Margarine
• 1/4 cup sliced Almonds, toasted
• 1/2 tsp Mellow White Miso Paste dissolved in 1/4 cup Water
• 2 tsp Garlic Juice
• 1/4 cup Vermouth
• 1 tsp Vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1/8 tsp Salt
• 1/8 tsp White Pepper
• 1 cup high fat Soy Milk (SoyDream works best)
• 1/2 cup Celery, sliced
• 1/2 cup Onions, chopped
• 1/3 cup cleaned and diced fresh Morel Mushrooms (About 5 Mushrooms. Sub Portobello if not available.)
• 1/2 cup White Button Mushrooms, sliced
• 4 additional TBSP Vegan Margarine
• 3 TBSP Unbleached White Flour
• Salt & freshly cracked Black Pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup finely grated Vegan White Cheddar Cheese**
• 1/8 cup finely grated Dr. Cow's Tree Nut Cheese

**I used Cheezly's Vegan White Cheddar. If this isn't available to you, substitute 1/2 cup grated Vegan Mozzarella combined with 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder and 1/4 tsp Onion Powder. 

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

Place the Tofu Scallops in an airtight container and pour 4 tsp of lemon juice, 1TBSP of white vinegar, a few drops of garlic juice and sprinkle a touch of salt over them. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes. 

Place 1/2 cup of vegan bread-crumbs in a shallow bowl. Melt the first 1 tsp of vegan butter, pour over the bread-crumbs and stir to combine. 

Spread the bread-crumbs out evenly on a baking sheet or sheet of heavy aluminum foil, and bake in the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes until browned. Remove from the oven, leaving the oven still on, and set aside to cool. 

Take a large saucepan, then add the Tofu Scallops with marinade (aka the lemon juice and vinegar that they were sitting in), the remaining 6 tsp of lemon juice, prepared white miso broth, garlic juice, vermouth, vegan Worcestershire sauce, salt, and white pepper. Bring the contents of the saucepan to a boil, cover, and lower heat to simmer. Allow the Tofu Scallops to simmer for about 8 minutes. 

Drain the Tofu Scallops, reserving the pan juices, then set the Tofu Scallops and reserved pan juices aside. Whisk the soy milk and second TBSP of white vinegar together and set aside. 

In the same large saucepan, melt the remaining 4 TBSP of vegan butter over medium heat. Sauté celery, onion, diced morels, and white button mushrooms until all the vegetables are soft. 

Sprinkle the sauté pan contents with unbleached white flour, then gradually whisk in the soy milk/vinegar blend + reserved pan juices. Cook while stirring frequently over medium heat until thickened. Taste for salt and pepper. 

Place an even amount of Tofu Scallops into 4 ramekins or one medium casserole dish, then spoon an even amount of the saucepan contents into each ramekin (or spoon it all into the casserole dish). 

Combine the vegan cheeses with the buttered bread crumbs, then sprinkle over top of each Gratin to cover evenly. 

Bake for about 20 minutes in the 350 degree oven, or until heated through and bubbly.