More ways to enjoy mushrooms
I’ve been looking beyond fried mushrooms, mushroom soup and sliced raw mushrooms in salad to expand my knowledge of culinary mushrooms.
In making this recipe from Rose Reisman’s Meal Revolution, the book I reviewed last week, I learned how to roast mushrooms and tried farro for the first time.
Farro, a grain whose history goes back to ancient Rome, has a chewy texture and wheaty flavour. It is available at the bulk food store.
I used a combination of shiitake and cremini mushrooms for this dish and found the flavour harmonized well with the other ingredients. Next time, though, I’ll either cut the mushrooms into thicker slices or check them at 15 minutes, as they dried out more than I’d have preferred at 20 minutes.
Farro with Arugula and Roasted Mushrooms
From Reisman, Rose: Rose Reisman’s Meal Revolution, Friesen Press, Victoria, 2020
206 g (1 cup) uncooked farro or barley
750 mL (3 cups) water
338 g (¾ lb) chopped mushrooms (variety of your choice)
3 shallots, finely chopped
5 mL (1 tsp) crushed garlic
10 mL (2 tsp) vegetable oil 225 g (3 cups) arugula or spinach 45 mL (3 tbsp) olive oil 30 mL (2 tbsp) lemon juice 0.5 mL (1/8 tsp) salt
0.5 mL (1/8 tsp) pepper
Bring farro and water to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until grain is still slightly chewy. Drain and rinse with cold water and place in serving bowl.
Preheat oven to 220 C (425 F). Chop mushrooms and place on baking sheet sprayed with vegetable oil. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until browned and crisp around the edges. Add to farro.
In a skillet, over medium heat, cook shallots and garlic in 10 mL (2 tsp) oil until tender, about 5 minutes. Add to farro.
Add arugula, olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Mix until well combined.
Makes 4 servings.
Enoki mushrooms, with their long stipes (stems) and tiny white caps, are less of a mystery to me now, though I still have much to learn about them. Their flavour is milder than other mushrooms I’ve tried, and they add an interesting crunch – also unlike other mushrooms – to salads, when served raw.
Last week I combined
chopped enokis with chopped crimini, sautéed them with onions and herbs and then combined with crumbled goat cheese, as a component of a rather spectacular Roasted Vegetable Pithivier recipe from Helen Nugent’s Pie Style (Page Street Publishing, Salem Mass., 2020). It’s pictured on Facebook.com/ islandgusto.
As for the old standard panfried mushrooms, I was impressed with how adding extra ingredients deepened the flavour and colour in this recipe.
15-Minute Buttered Balsamic Mushrooms Adapted from thekitchn. com, Feb 8 2017
15 mL (1 tbsp) olive oil
1 large or 2 small shallots, peeled and minced
45 mL (3 tbsp) unsalted butter, divided
500 mL (1 lb) white or cremini mushrooms, 3 mm (1/8 inch) slices
2 mL (½ tsp) kosher salt
1 mL (¼ tsp) freshly ground black pepper
7 mL (1½ tsp) finely chopped fresh rosemary or thyme leaves
30 mL (2 tbsp) balsamic vinegar 22 mL (1 ½ tbsp) packed light brown sugar
15 mL (1 tbsp) tamari or soy sauce 3 cloves garlic, finely minced or grated
Heat oil in a large frying pan over high heat until shimmering, about 15 to 20 seconds. Add the shallots and cook until they begin to soften and brown at the edges.
Add 30 mL (2 tbsp) of the butter and stir until melted. Add the mushrooms, salt, pepper and rosemary or thyme and stir well. Cook, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until the mushrooms have a rich brown colour on the edges and some of the sides and have just begun to release their juices, 3 to 4 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are soft and tender and the liquid reduces in volume considerably, thickens to the consistency of agave or maple syrup and coats the mushrooms – 6 to 8 minutes.
Add the remaining 15 mL (1 tbsp) of butter and stir constantly, allowing the butter to melt completely and coat the mushrooms, until they shine and the sauce is a bit lighter in colour, about 1 minute. Serve immediately.