Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is truly a great food city. Long gone are the days where we were only known for putting french fries on everything––from sandwiches to salads to pizzas and beyond.
Nowadays, we have so many incredible restaurants doing creative, inventive, mind-blowing things with foods. And one of my all-time favorite restaurants––Della Terra just north of Pittsburgh in a small town called Zelienople (zee-lee-in-oh-pole)––did one of those mind-blowing things this past weekend!
I was lucky enough to snag a ticket to Chef Saul’s Foraged Mushroom Dinner, hosted by Della Terra, on December 1, and we were taken through five different dishes, celebrating the lowly mushroom.
Pennsylvania grows a ton of mushrooms––in fact, over 60% of the mushrooms produced in the US are grown in this state (!!)––I was extra excited to experience new ways to use an ingredient that:
- I’m pretty fond of and use quite a bit in my own cooking.
- Grows right in my backyard!
Plus, the friend I went with actually helped forage for the mushrooms we ate during the meal! I couldn’t wait.
Even though Della Terra/Chef Saul put together these “tasting menu” dinners every once in a while, this was the first time that it was fully vegetarian. There was an optional wine pairing as well, which took us through unique wines from Italy, Austria, and New York.
They paired beautifully with the five different dishes highlighting the unique flavors and preparations of these locally-sourced mushrooms.
The Meal
Roasted Hen of the Woods Peshwari
coconut, pistachio, buttered bean dip
I mean, bread + dip is my love language, so this dish was obviously going to be a hit for me! We watched as Chef Jason cooked these peshwari (a stuffed leavened bread) in Della Terra’s beautiful green wood-fired oven, and they arrived to us hot and perfectly charred.
The bread was stuffed with a mushroom and coconut mixture that was fragrant, savory, and slightly chewy. The buttered bean dip was enjoyable and dusted with fruity sumac, but the peshwari was the star! It was so satisfying ripping off pieces of the warm peshwari and sliding it through the creamy dip. Such a great combo.
Steamed Grape Leaves
chicken of the woods mushrooms, nuts, dried fruit, rice, spinach, dill & lime yogurt
I love steamed grape leaves, as they are such a fun “finger food” that pack a punch of flavor and texture.
These grape leaves were also foraged locally, and they were thick and chewy. The rice filling was spiked pine nuts and (what I’m guessing was) dried cherry and/or cranberries, and the bed of lime yogurt was super tart and cut through the richness of the grape leaf filling.
My mouth is seriously watering right now thinking of that yogurt sauce! Great for a dill-lover like me, too.
Mushroom Ramen
wild mushroom dashi, tempeh, nori, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, braised kombu, pickled ginger, toasted sesame sead
First of all…this portion? Crazy. I actually just had the leftovers of this ramen for lunch today.
Second, this was the best vegetarian ramen I’ve ever had. A lot of the other vegetarian ramens I’ve tried in the past had very subpar broths––too light and frankly lacking in flavor.
I’ve even tried making it at home, and I still had very meh experiences with it.
This broth was amazing––it was a deep, dark brown in color and full of rich, umami flavors. It was almost thick in a way that I’ve never seen a vegetarian ramen broth be (but always wished it could be). The toppings and add-ins were great too; the pickled ginger cut through the robust flavors so well, and the noodles were delightfully bouncy.
Crazy that it took me going to an Italian restaurant to have a really great veg ramen!
Pickled Mushroom & Cucumber
juniper pickle brine, braised kombu, macadamia cream, toasted sichuan peppercorn
I had never had pickled mushrooms before, but being from Pittsburgh, it’s kind of a requirement that you’re a fan of pickled anything (we have a whole festival––Picklesburgh––devoted to all-things pickled every year).
I actually really enjoyed these pickled mushrooms; they were soft and chewy and a bit spongy, but not in a off-putting way. Some of the other folks I was eating with didn’t love that texture, but I ended up loving it.
I could have done with a little less macadamia cream, as I felt it sort of overwhelmed the bitey, sour flavors I was so craving after the big umami punch in the face from the ramen, but I was really jazzed with my first experience with pickled mushrooms.
Hickory Bark-Smoked Gelato
candied chanterelles, roasted hickory syrup, toasted buckwheat crumble, mushroom sugar
YEP. A mushroom dessert!
Weirdly enough, this isn’t the first time I’ve had mushrooms in ice cream this year, but I’ve certainly never had them candied before.
And wow. They were so cool. They were chewy––almost like a gummy candy––and tossed in a crystalized sugar that added a nice little crunch.
I was also incredibly impressed with the smoked gelato. In general, I really hate smoked desserts and drinks, but I got only a subtle smoky flavor right at the end of each silky-smooth spoonful. The crumble added a nice grainy texture to this otherwise soft and creamy dish as well.
My only regret is that I wish I was hungry enough to finish my bowl; I was seriously stuffed by the end of my meal.
I just really love that restaurants lean into the passions their employees have and allow them to have fun like this. I could tell how much Chef Saul and the Della Terra gang enjoyed putting this menu together for all of us, and I certainly had a great time enjoying it all.
Three cheers for the Della Terra crew for a fantastic culinary experience and introducing me to so many ways to use one of my very favorite vegetables! I’ll be thinking of those absolutely bonkers candied chanterelles for a very long time.
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