I love mushrooms. In salads, added to a breakfast fry-up, in soups and stews. This morning I took a handful out to cook for breakfast (with olive oil, garlic, parsley, onion and a bit of chopped leftover ham). The remaining mushrooms looked so pristine and perfect I decided to turn them into marinated mushrooms – something I hadn’t done for a long while.
They were cup mushrooms, bigger than button mushrooms. I trimmed off the stalks, keeping them to add to another recipe, and cut the larger ones in half. I wanted them to keep for longer than the usually recommended five days so decided to use a hot marinating/pickling method.
It’s a recipe I made up as I went along, being guided by reference to a few cook books. As with most recipes of this type, you can vary the herbs and other ingredients. Use cider vinegar instead of red wine vinegar and white sugar or honey instead of the brown sugar I chose. My recipe is quite dark so next time I’ll have a go at making a lighter colour combination.
I never wash mushrooms but brush any dirt off with a pastry brush. This is my recipe.
Italian-style Marinated Mushrooms
350g cup or button mushrooms, halved if large
2 cups water
1/4 cup lemon juice
A bay leaf
Pinch of dried oregano
15g (1 tablespoon) brown sugar
150ml olive oil
100ml red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 garlic cloves
Bring the water and lemon juice to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the mushrooms and simmer for 2 minutes. Drain.
Place mushrooms in a clean, sterilized jar, leaving about 1cm at the top.
Put all other ingredients into the pan and bring to the boil. Turn off heat and leave to cool for a few minutes.
Pour marinade over the mushooms. Push them down into the liquid and put the lid on tightly.
Leave for at least a day before using. They should keep for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
Delicious as part of an antipasto platter or with good bread and butter.
That’s an interesting recipe. I should try it some time. Thank you Julie.