I Dare Ya

Well, the title of this is called Dingo Dave's Delightfully Daring Delicacies after all...

Mushroom Caps Stuffed With Vindaloo Eggs!

Oh, come on now... please keep reading. They are very very very tasty. But first: A word (or two or three) about chilli (chili) peppers.

I know a heckuva lot about chillis, as they are some of my most favorite foods --however I've married into a family of folks who think a pinch of black pepper in a gallon of soup is hot so I've had to "tone down" the spicy-ness just a wee bit.

Jalapenos??? Criminy, I can eat 'em whole. Tabasco Sauce: wussy stuff, that is. Thai chilli peppers? Now we're gettin' there. I can eat them whole too. Haberno? Damned hot, they are! Make very good sauces and spreads; had a bite of one once... good thing the sour cream was handy. Of course, you've all heard of the chilli recently bred in India that has over 1,000,000 scoville heat units (a weenie jalapeno is around 4,000) and the name translates to Death Chilli or Poison Chilli. The fumes off that sucker will blister bare skin!!!! Ummmm, I'll pass on it. Just for reference, it's almost as hot as that pepper spray stuff that wards bears away.

We all know that chilli peppers are native to South America, but they've been brought all over the world in the last 500 years. Asians love 'em, as so do Indians (you know, the folks that live in India?) and they've really worked on perfecting them suckers.

Where does this lead to vindaloo???? Well, vindaloo paste was a Portuguese invention (remember, they went all over the world too --long story) that was brought to India. It's classified as a curry, but it's really not. It's also bloody-well HOT! I think it's the tamarind in the paste that sets off the chilli heat, and the fact that Indians (folks from India) really know how to breed HOT chillis.

So when I mention that this dish only needs 1 tsp of vindaloo paste (the authentic stuff), please keep in mind that I'm NOT a wuss when it comes to spicy foods, it's just that real vindaloo paste from India (the country where Indians are from) is darned hot.

Remember: spicy food keeps you cool in hot weather! Why? Cus it dilates your capillaries so your periferal (peripheral) circulation increases so that your body blows off heat. Of course, the standard solution from white faces when going to a hot climate is just to turn on the A/C and hide indoors (I don't advocate this approach even though I've been known to do that once in a while --my other solution is to go jump in the pool).

Alrighty, rant over; here's the recipe:


Mushroom Caps Stuffed With Vindaloo Eggs

What you knead:

16 good sized (as opposed to bad sized) mushroom caps (twist the stalk to remove it, don't just pull)
olive oil
couple tsp of dried tarragon
5 eggs
1 tsp (or two) of authentic vindaloo paste
some sour cream (about 1/2 cup)

What you due:

Rinse the shrooms (you've already de-stalked them), then toss em in a bowl with some olive oil and dried tarragon. Toss well to coat them all; set aside.

Beat the eggs (use a whisk, duh). Add the vindaloo paste and beat again. Cook the eggs (I use a wok with a bit of olive oil in it) and toss and turn while cooking --it'll only take a minute.

Put the marinated shroom caps on a baking tray and stuff em with the cooked eggs --go ahead and pack the eggs down well, it's fun and makes cool bubbly noises!

Bake in a medium-hot pre-heated oven for 10-15 mins. Plate them up, and plop a dollop of sour cream on the top of each.

They really are yummy, trust me.