More Mushroom Recipes

[While recovering I’m actively on the hunt for new and exciting recipes, considering that our last post has gathered a lot of interest, I thought I’d do best by bringing you more “mushrooms as a main ingredient.” I’ve tried everyone of these, and I found each simply delicious! CS]

From Kaylin’s Kitchen:

Roasted Mushrooms with Garlic, Thyme, and Balsamic Vinegar

1 lb. mushrooms (I used brown Crimini mushrooms)
2 T + 1 tsp. olive oil
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 T finely minced garlic
1 T balsamic vinegar
2 T finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 T chopped fresh parsley (optional, for garnish)

Preheat oven to 400F/200C or heat gas or charcoal grill to medium high. Wash mushrooms, pull out stems, and cut into halves (or quarters if the mushrooms are large.) Put mushrooms into bowl and toss with 2 T olive oil, salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Cover a roasting pan with foil, then arrange mushrooms on the pan in a single layer. (Spread them out as much as you can. For cooking on a grill, I’d probably use heavy foil to make a “pan” so the flame doesn’t turn the bottom of the roasting pan black.)

Roast mushrooms 15 minutes. While mushrooms cook, finely chop fresh thyme, then mix with minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, and the tsp. of olive oil. (You could mix this right in the bowl you originally tossed the mushrooms with.)

After 15 minutes, drain off any liquid that has accumulated. (If you spread the mushrooms out well, the liquid will evaporate, but if yours are too crowded like mine, you’ll have a little liquid to pour off.) Then toss the hot mushrooms with they garlic-thyme mixture. Arrange back on roasting pan and cook about 10 minutes more. Serve hot, sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley if desired.

Delicious!!!!

Portobello mushrooms are inexpensive, full of flavor and meat like in taste. Here is a quick and easy recipe from allrecipes.com:

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 3 portobello mushrooms
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 tablespoons chopped onion
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Clean mushrooms and remove stems, reserve for other use. Place caps on a plate with the gills up.
2. In a small bowl, combine the oil, onion, garlic and vinegar. Pour mixture evenly over the mushroom caps and let stand for 1 hour.
3. Grill over hot grill for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Recipe Yield: 3 servings

As a child, as a teenager, mushrooms were not exactly my idea of good food… As I grew older, my taste buds got more educated and started appreciating many ingredients I would never have touched in my early years. Mushroom based dishes not only are healthy, but mushrooms add a lot of flavor to almost anything they are cooked with. Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy

CS

Wild Mushroom Pierogies

[I’ve not been well for just over a month, while I’m slowly recovering and SYR is finishing off some other projects, I thought that I should at least bring you some delectable recipes from other blogs. One of my favorite recipe sites PtitChef, directed my attention to this great recipe (I made it yesterday and can attest to it being delicious!) from a non kosher blogger (Gourmet Traveller) who nevertheless has some superb recipes that are easy to adapt or already can be kosher. Below I will quote the original recipe and then I will give you my variation, because I had it together with meat. CS]

serves 6

Filling:

1 cup boiling water
18g (2/3 oz) dried porcini mushrooms
1 medium onion, quartered
2 garlic cloves, crushed
170g (6 oz) cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

1 portion pierogi dough (recipe below)
450g (1 lb) onions, chopped
55g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
sour cream (to serve)

First, make the filling. Pour boiling water over porcini in a small bowl and soak until softened, 10 to 20 minutes. Lift porcini out of water, squeezing excess liquid back into bowl, and rinse well to remove any grit. Pour soaking liquid through a paper-towel-lined sieve into a bowl and reserve.

Finely chop onion and garlic in a food processor, then add the cremini and porcini mushrooms and pulse until very finely chopped.

Heat butter in a skillet over moderate heat until foaming, then cook mushroom mixture, stirring frequently, until mushrooms darken and excess liquid has evaporated (about 8 minutes). Add reserved soaking liquid and simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture is thick, dry, and beginning to brown, about 15 minutes (there will be about 1 cup filling). Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Leave to cool completely.

To make the pierogies, Halve the dough and roll out 1 piece on a lightly floured surface into a 15-inch round (keep remaining dough wrapped). Cut out rounds with a floured cutter and place 1 tsp filling in centre of each round. Moisten edges with water and fold in half to form a half-moon, and pinch the edges together to seal. Transfer made pierogi to a flour-dusted kitchen towel and repeat with remaining rounds.

Cook onions in butter in a large heavy skillet over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.

Cook pierogies in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water until tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to the skillet with onions and lightly pan-fry for a minute or two on each side – be careful as the dumplings will be fragile. Serve immediately.

Note: Filling can be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Filled pierogies can be frozen 1 month. Freeze on a tray until firm (about 2 hours) then freeze in plastic bags. Thaw before cooking.

Pierogi Dough

1 3/4 cup plain flour
2 large eggs
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup water

Stir together flours in a bowl. Make a well in flour and add eggs, salt, and water, then stir together with a fork without touching flour. Continue stirring, gradually incorporating flour into well until a soft dough forms. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead, adding only as much additional flour as needed to keep dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. (Dough will be soft.) Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Note: Dough may be made 2 hours ahead, wrapped well in plastic wrap and chilled. Bring to room temperature before using.

Because some porcini mushrooms are known to be infested with tiny insects and worms I substituted them with fresh shiitake mushrooms, even if the taste is somewhat different and not as nutty. On the other hand, shiitake mushrooms have been identified as a top provider of L-ergothioneine (one of the most potent anti-oxidants), so I felt it was a very good substitute.

Since I had some left over Shabbos meat, that had to be finished, instead of butter (as the original recipe calls for) I used Hollandaise Sauce (made with margarine) as taught by Chef David Ritter (from the Center for Kosher Culinary Arts) on these two videos. The Hollandaise also brought another element to the above recipe, not only was the sauce quite buttery but it also added a subtle, tang taste. MmMmm, MmmMm!

Yesterday’s dinner was delicious, but I also learned how to make a great Hollandaise… ahhh, the future possibilities!  I froze three of the six pierogies,  those I’ll try this with Chef Ritter’s Béarnaise Sauce, it should greatly enhance the taste.

CS