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.
Toss your favorite mushrooms (try quartered cremini or button mushrooms) in olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs. Transfer mushrooms to a roasting pan or sheet tray. (Be sure they're in a single layer so they don't steam each other.) Roast in a preheated oven for 15 minutes at 375°F.
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.
Spread them in an even layer on a parchment lined baking sheet.Roast until they are golden brown and crisp around the edges for about 20-25 minutes, tossing once halfway through. Once the mushrooms are removed from the oven, toss them with the chopped garlic, lemon zest and juice, capers, and parsley.
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.
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.
Not only are they earthy, savory, and meaty but also are packed with nutrients! Roasted mushrooms in the oven are generally low in calories and fat and are great to bulk up a meal. They contain Vitamin D, riboflavin, potassium and are a good source of fiber!
Sautéed mushrooms with butter have their benefits, but so do sautéed mushrooms with olive oil. I use both oil and butter for a dynamic duo that pairs searing (oil) with rich, satisfying flavor (butter). (I also use both in my Sauteed Spinach.)
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.
Some experts say that the taste of mushrooms belongs to a fifth flavor - beyond sweet, sour, salty, and bitter - known as “umami”, from the Japanese word meaning delicious. Various cultures have been using mushrooms for thousands of years for their powerful medicinal purposes.
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.
Covering the mushrooms for the first few minutes of cooking helps them release their liquid and brown more quickly. Once uncovered, the liquid evaporates, and the mushrooms begin to brown.
Marinate mushroom caps in oil, tamari, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, vegan Worcestershire, garlic, liquid smoke, and black pepper. Add your favorite steak sauce or seasoning, but just be aware that it might not be vegan, so if you're going for an entirely plant-based steak, check the ingredients.
While some mushrooms such as button mushrooms can be safely eaten raw, it's not the most appealing way to consume them. Their flavour is much more concentrated once their water content has been released through cooking, which brings out their umami qualities.
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.
Introduction: My name is Greg O'Connell, I am a delightful, colorful, talented, kind, lively, modern, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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