Lion's Mane 'Crab' Cakes

My husband recently gifted me a wonderful mushroom grow box which contained Lion's mane. Not only is it delicious, but this fungus is full of wonderful health properties which stimulate the growth of new brain cells, improve depression and anxiety, and support gut, heart, and immune health!

Now on my 3rd harvest from the grain spawn, I realized I was VERY overdue in creating some 'crab' cakes as a 'thank you'! Sharing my recipe below, this can be made gluten free, and is vegan, oil free, and high in protein!

Ingredients

For the patties

Lion's mane mushrooms- I used about 115g (4oz)
2 tbsp soy sauce/ tamari
1 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes (optional)
smoked black pepper (to taste)
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
3 tbsp chickpea flour

For the batter (optional - can remove if low carb or gluten free)

1/2 cup chickpea flour
1/3 cup water
salt and pepper
around 2/3 cup breadcrumbs - (substitute for gluten free breadcrumbs or cornflakes as needed)

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 180°C.

Lion's mane mushroom

2. Shred the lion's mane into small pieces.

Shredded lion's mane

3. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon (being careful to remove any pips!)

Add the juice of half a lemon

4. Add the remaining seasonings- onion and garlic powder, soy sauce/ tamari, smoked black pepper, liquid smoke, parsley, and Old Bay.

Season with onion and garlic powder, parsley, a little smoked black pepper, soy sauce/ tamari, liquid smoke, and some Old Bay

5. Add the chickpea flour, and mix- the flour will act as a binder, so the mixture should start to stick together.

Add the chickpea flour

6. Form the mixture into patties, I made 5 which were around the same size as my palm. Place on baking parchment. You can cook these as they are if preferred (skip steps 7-9).

Form into patties

7. (Optional)- make the chickpea batter by mixing the chickpea flour and water. The batter should be fairly thick, similar to a pancake batter consistency.

The chickpea batter should be relatively thick

8. Coat the patties in the batter using a spoon.

Use a spoon to cover your patties with the batter before covering in breadcrumbs

9. Cover the patty in breadcrumbs, and place back on the baking parchment.

10. Bake on 350°F/ 180°C. for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes

Serve immediately, and enjoy!
If you'd like to bake some cheezy potato wedges to accompany these, you can find the recipe here.