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Puffball Fritters
An English Recipe Remove the outer skin from the puffball and out in half-inch slices. Have ready some chopped sweet herbs and the beaten yolk of egg. Dip the slices of puffball in the egg, sprinkle them with the herbs and salt and pepper; then roll in fine bread crumbs, and fry a nice brown in fresh butter or nice drippings. Serve at once on a hot platter, garnished with sprigs of cress.
A plain breaded-and-fried mushroom cutlet, filed among batter cakes although no batter is involved. Everything depends on the mushroom itself.
- Cut every piece open firstOnly a giant puffball (Calvatia gigantea and close relatives) that is pure, uniform white inside like a marshmallow is worth cooking. Any yellow, olive, purple or brown tint in the flesh means it has begun to form spores and should be discarded, and any sign of an outline of a cap, gills or stem inside means it is an immature gilled mushroom -- possibly a deadly Amanita -- and must be thrown out. Earthballs (Scleroderma) have a firm dark purple-black interior and cause violent gastric illness.
- Sizing the slicesHalf-inch slices are right; thinner ones collapse and thicker ones stay spongy in the middle. A single football-sized puffball will yield a dozen or more full rounds, so cut the large slabs into portions before breading.
- "Sweet herbs"The period phrase means the mild kitchen herbs rather than anything sugared: parsley, thyme, marjoram, chervil, a little tarragon. Chop them fine so they hold under the crumb coat.
- Egg yolk aloneYolk browns well, but it is thick and slippery on a wet mushroom. A whole egg beaten with a spoonful of water gives a coating the crumbs actually grip.
- Dry the slicesPuffball flesh is mostly water. Blot both faces on a towel and salt them only just before breading, or the salt draws moisture out and the crumb crust slides off in the pan.
- Drippings"Nice drippings" meant clean saved beef or bacon fat. Clarified butter, or butter cut with a neutral oil, handles the heat better than whole butter, which will brown and speck at the temperature needed for a crisp crust.
- Heat and timingMedium-high, roughly 2 to 3 minutes a side, until the crumbs are a good brown. The interior needs no long cooking; overheld slices go limp and weep.
- CressGarden or watercress was the standard peppery green garnish of the period. It is worth keeping, as the mushroom itself is very mild.
- YieldNot stated. Reckon three or four slices a person as a first course or a supper dish, served the moment they leave the pan.