Tasty Mushrooms Made Easy
15 October 2007
The good thing about mushrooms is that they do not require a lot of elaboration to make them very tasty. They can for example just be sautéed in some olive oil and seasoned very lightly, which is really quickly done but with some garnish is also quite a presentable starter for guests, particularly if you are planning to serve something more substantial as a main course.
I actually think that the mushroom's own flavour develops best when they are only very briefly done, so they are not raw but still have a good bite inside. I am also always careful with the seasoning as you can easily override their intrinsic taste. Here I just flavoured them with a hint of rosemary and some garlic (again, in a small dose), and then combined them with the fresh taste of a fresh basil oil blend which I served as a sort of dip or garnish. This time I used just brown champignons, but this starter is probably even more delicious if made with wild mushrooms - a good thing to try out now during mushroom season!
Sautéed Mushrooms with Basil Oil
| serves 4 as a starter |
| 400g mushrooms |
| 1 clove of garlic |
| 2 branches of rosemary |
| 40g pine nuts |
| 40g chipped almonds |
| a dash of sherry |
| around 20 leaves of fresh basil |
| 150ml olive oil |
| baguette as garnish |
Chop the mushrooms into 2-3mm slices and put them aside. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a frying pan (just about more or less covering the base) and place the whole rosemary branches in the pan. Peel the garlic and either chop finely or press it through a garlic press. Push the rosemary a bit to the side of the pan and use the free space to fry the garlic for a few seconds. Be careful as garlic can burn quite quickly, so stir it while frying and also make sure the oil is not overly hot.
When the garlic has got a little bit of colour, but before its gets really brown, add the mushrooms and stir well. If necessary add some more olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and sauté them for only about 5 minutes; then add a dash of sherry and after a minute turn down the heat to a very low flame. Cover with a lid and let it simmer very gently for another 5 minutes. Before serving remove the rosemary branches; they should have left enough flavour in the sauce.
In the meantime blend the olive oil with the fresh basil until you get a smooth green dip. Ideally use a nice cold pressed olive oil with a rather mild taste, i.e. not too spicy.
Roast the pine nuts and chipped almonds in a non-stick frying pan without any fat at medium heat; check them constantly as they can burn quickly.
Arrange mushrooms and basil oil side by side, sprinkle with the roasted pine nuts and almonds and serve with some baguette.