Raw is a brilliant state for lettuce, for talent, for truth. Not so much for mushroom.

Uncooked, the mushroom is edible, but barely. It offers a spongy bite of bland. How the naked mushroom sneaked onto the salad plate — and why — remains a mystery.

Hunched and humble, the mushroom needs coaxing. Browned in butter, spiked with sherry and cradled in a crisp crust, it reveals its tangle of tastes: woodsy, wild and worth the wait.