Maitake Mushrooms

Like birds to shiny objects, we're drawn to foods with unusual appearances. That's one reason why we bought this Maitake mushroom (aka Hen of the Woods mushroom) at a local farmers' market.

Maitake mushrooms (meaning "Dancing mushroom" in Japanese) are grown at the base of trees.  In Eastern medicine, it is thought to boost the immune system.  According to the American Cancer Society, there are ongoing studies to see if maitake mushrooms can help fight against or slow down cancer.  Health benefits would be a bonus as these mushrooms are meaty, earthy, and easily adaptable to many dishes. 

Any dish that uses regular button mushrooms can incorporate Maitake mushrooms.  Having bought this pale green duck egg (nope, we did not naturally dye this egg - Mother Nature did it for us!), we thought we would make a simple dish.
With thoughts of our meals at Blue Hill and Telepan, we decided to poach the duck egg and pan fry small pieces of the Maitake mushroom.  The duck egg had a huge yolk, so getting our white puffy cloud from the limited egg whites was a little tricky.
  We added a few heirloom cherry tomatoes and our simple farmers' market lunch was complete.  The mushroom was crispy, but still retained its umami taste. 
mmm...and we loved the rich, runny yolk! 

We have 3/4 of the large Maitake mushroom left.  We may make a pasta dish similar to the one we enjoyed at dell'anima.  What would you make with a Maitake/Hen of the Woods mushroom?