Wild Mushroom & Crouton Salad
My sister-in-law Ellen sent me an email letting me know that there were very few mushroom recipes on my site. How come?
Because the other eater in the house (her brother) despises them. I can use them in a Chicken Marsala and Coq au Vin, but they will be picked out of his dish and put on my plate.
Thank you!
I think this is my favorite way to prepare mushrooms. If you love them, like I do, then you will LOVE this dish.
You can use any combination of wild mushrooms, and if you don't want to be fancy, then plain old white button mushrooms are fine.
This is for all the mushroom lovers in the house!
Wild Mushroom & Crouton Salad (really a saute more than a salad): (inspired by Real Life Entertaining)
2 lbs. of mixed mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 cups of bread cubes from a baguette or rustic Italian loaf
sea salt & pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
With this dish you have to work fast, careful not to burn the garlic or the bread cubes. It all cooks up quickly, so make sure you are paying attention.
In a heavy skillet, heat the olive oil with one tablespoon of butter on med-high flame.
Add the mushrooms and start browning by leaving them alone in the skillet, about 2 minutes. Now add the garlic, and start moving around the mushrooms and garlic with a wooden spoon, another minute or so.
It's time to add the bread cubes.
Add the other 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan and add the bread cubes. You may also need some more olive oil at this point, because the mushrooms suck up most of the oil. Add oil as needed.
Keep cooking the croutons until they get nice and crispy on all sides, about 2 minutes. Season the pan liberally with salt & pepper.
Add the chopped parsley and mix together. This gets cold quickly, but it's still delicious at room temperature.
Serve immediately.
Fungi rules!
Comments
This is a fun recipe. I'm not big on most varieties of wild 'shrooms, but I do like working with the portabellos and cremini because they are so hearty. I can imagine how nicely they would all go with the croutons. I would almost call this a mushroom panzanella.
When we were given a new food to try but curled up our noses, my mother said, "you have to have one tasting bite". My grandmother was more manipulative, cajoling us: "I'll give you a quarter!" Henry: "you have to have 1 tasting bite"!
I did make this with my beautiful local Kennett Square mushrooms. It WAS heavenly. The mushrooms browned so beautifully and it was all divine. Nobody will eat mushrooms here either so I had it all to myself. Thanks for the recipe!! Love from your SIL