This recipe is so filled with garlic it will make a grown man wince. Just the way we like it. Text And Photo By Brittany Thomas
In my twenty five years on this planet, I have eaten a lot of mushrooms. I’ve eaten countless slices of pizza with paper thin wafers of mushroom dotted across the bubbly cheese; I’ve swapped out a hamburger for a Frisbee-sized portabella cap; they’ve been my staple side dish at nearly every steakhouse meal, swimming in butter yet lacking in real flavor; and I’ve cursed under my breath as the raw mushrooms split and cracked during my best attempt at skewering them for a kabob barbecue. Mushrooms and I? We go back a long way.
When I was in high school, we took a class cruise to the Bahamas. Now, for anyone who has ever been aboard a cruise ship, you are already aware of the sinful gluttony that takes place every time a meal is served. It’s course after course, plate after plate, each one with a heavy cream sauce pooled underneath some expensive cut of meat we’d otherwise never buy at home. And that’s the sort of indulgence you expect, I suppose. After all, my last cruise experience was for my parent’s wedding anniversary and thanks to the late night room service option, my father walked off a seven day cruise twelve pounds heavier than when he first boarded. That’s a true story.
It was on that high school cruise that I first had escargot. No one at the table wanted to order it, yet we all dared each other to, and nobody wanted to look like a pansy. So my roommate and I ordered it and waited anxiously for it to arrive. When the server set the dinged up silver tray with its tiny potholes filled with strange caramel-colored knobs of meat in front of me, I didn’t see what all the fuss was about. It looks sort of boring, actually. Now, my mother explained to me once how to enjoy escargot: you don’t chew; you just sort of suck all the garlic and butter off of each one and swallow it right down. Easy. So I scooped up one of the little creepy-crawlies and down the hatch it went. It was hot, swimming in melted butter, with the scent of garlic so strong it made your eyes water just a bit. It was fantastic. As lovely of an experience as it was, I didn’t make it through the entire plate. Somewhere along the line, I spotted two of the tiny antennae poking up through the butter like a sad little flag of surrender and I couldn’t carry on.
When I came across this recipe for garlic and butter roasted mushrooms in Gourmet, it was delightfully disguised as a substitute for the escargot experience. I don’t like to think of it that way – this dish is a surrogate for nothing. You roast a few handfuls of meaty mushrooms with sweet butter, tangy capers, and enough fresh garlic to make a grown man wince. After they’ve submitted to the heat of the oven, you squeeze over a bit of tart lemon juice to liven things up a bit and a bit of minced parsley, lemony and green and wonderful. With a few wedges of crusty bread to sop up the juices in all their glory, you’ll never miss the escargot.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Clean the mushroom with a wet paper towel and put them into a baking dish, halving them if they are a bit large. Sprinkle over the capers, garlic cloves, salt & pepper, & vegetable oil and toss it all together. Dot the butter over the top.
Roast for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Immediately after removing from the oven, squeeze over the lemon juice and parsley. Serve hot.
Prep Time:10 mins
Cook Time:20 mins
Brittany Thomas
Brittany Thomas is a freelance food writer and the author, photographer, & publisher of the award-winning blog "If You Give A Girl A Cookie." Her writing has been featured in The Urbanite, Hagerstown Magazine, The Baltimore Sun, & The Frederick News Post. She likes chocolate cake, asparagus, blood oranges, and lemon desserts. She lives in small-town Pennsylvania with her new husband and mischievous puppy, Kona.
Garlic – For sharp depth of flavor. I add it right at the end of the cooking process so that it doesn't burn in the hot pan. Extra-virgin olive oil – It helps the mushrooms brown and adds richness to the final dish.
Roasting mushrooms is easy and one of the best ways to cook them. I roast mushrooms with olive oil and herbs until golden brown, then stir in fresh garlic a few minutes before they come out of the oven. Our oven-roasted mushrooms are simple and so flavorful.
Butter is great because it adds lots of flavor and produces a nice golden brown exterior, while adding oil allows the mushrooms to cook a little more quickly at slightly higher heat.
The study demonstrated that cooking methods have an effect on the flavor profile of white mushrooms. Sear mushrooms for a more intense roasted, charred and smoky flavor and overall aroma. Roast mushrooms to get more sweet, salty and umami tastes with caramelized, nutty and buttery flavors.
Regardless of the different schools of thought on how to get that pesky dirt off mushrooms, there is no doubt that it is important to clean mushrooms before cooking, one way or another. Vegetables (and fruits) can sometimes carry germs that can lead to foodborne illness, so it is important to be mindful.
Prep! For our roasted mushrooms recipe, we use cremini mushrooms but you can make it your own and roast portobello, shiitake, or button mushrooms – whatever you have available! Cut into quarters and drizzle with olive oil and salt! Pro tip: place them cut-side down in a single layer to get that crispy bottom!
2Heat the olive oil in a large, wide skillet over medium heat. 3Add the mushrooms and spread into one layer. Then cook, without moving, until browned on one side, 3 to 5 minutes. 4Stir then cook another 3 to 5 minutes or until mostly golden brown on all sides.
Shiitake, Oyster, and Lion's Mane mushrooms are considered one of the healthiest mushrooms. The shape, color, size, and flavor of mushroom varieties differ, but they do share similar nutritional values. Most mushrooms offer: Carbohydrates.
Sautéing them in oil first is a crucial mistake when cooking with mushrooms, as the oil will disappear, so you'll add more but then be left with soggy, oil-logged mushrooms. Cooking the mushrooms in water -- although counterintuitive and unconventional -- solves the problem of soggy mushrooms.
Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each morel mushroom stem and, if desired, cut the mushrooms in half from stem to tip. Rinse in cool water to remove any dirt and insects. If the mushrooms look clean, this may be enough; if not, a short soak in lightly salted water brings out any remaining insects and dirt.
This will make them soggy and slimy in texture, so you should wait until you have fully cooked the 'shrooms and allowed them some time to cool before seasoning them for the best results on your mushroom dish.
Add acidic ingredients: Adding acidic ingredients like lemon juice, vinegar, or tomatoes can help balance out the flavor of the mushrooms. Use other strong flavors: Adding other strong flavors like garlic, onions, or herbs can help mask the mushroom taste.
Do You Sauté the Onions First? To keep the onions from cooking in the mushroom juices, wait to add the onions until the mushrooms have released their excess liquid and almost all of that liquid has evaporated. Once you get there, add the onions and let them sauté and brown in the fat alongside the mushrooms.
The onions and peppers are going to take around 5-8 minutes to get good color but retain their snap. I would cook the mushrooms separately - they're going to take a little longer 8-10 minutes, because they give off a bit of moisture. When the mushrooms are done, add everything else to pan to meld flavors.
Boiled mushrooms brown faster and more evenly than raw; you don't have to wait for them to cook down, so you don't have to worry too much about crowding the pan. As long as they eventually make contact with a hot, oiled skillet, boiled mushrooms will brown nicely.
Starting Your Mushrooms In Water Intensifies Their Flavor
When we cook mushrooms, both the water and the air are forced out of the hyphae, collapsing the air pockets and preventing any water or oil from entering the mushroom.
Introduction: My name is Jeremiah Abshire, I am a outstanding, kind, clever, hilarious, curious, hilarious, outstanding person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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