(A note about “Spotlight Ingredients”… Sunday is my favorite day of the week to cook. I’ll grill, broil, saute or bake the entire spotlight ingredient. That means that I could have a pork roast in the slow cooker or I could be frying a large quantity of pork chops. Whatever it may be, I will cook it all at once and then immediately reserve portions for the next two nights. To some people it may sound like leftovers, but it really is not when you consider you’ve just cooked the base for making three entirely different recipes in the following days.)
Mushrooms come in many varieties. There are more than 10,000 different types, but most commonly, these are the mushrooms you see at your grocery store: white, portobello, shitake, chanterelle, oyster.
Depending on the type of mushroom, I will figure out what I want to make.
- White– These mushrooms can be used in almost every recipe. They are the most economical and versatile, so you can never go wrong with these. Throw them into salads, saute them and put them on top of your burger. Just remember that when cleaning them, do no run them under water. Just take a towel and rub off any excess dirt.
- Portobello– These make a great vegetarian dish. Roast them whole and then fill them with goat cheese or mozzerlla cheese before finishing them off in the broiler oven.
- Shitake– You’ll see them most commonly used in Asian noodle bowls or stir frys.
- Chanterelle– Saute them in butter, salt and parsley and these mushrooms are great to eat on their own. You often see them topped on crostinis as great appetizers with a little melted cheese or carmelized onion. I like to use them particularly with wine in my Chicken Marsala recipe.
- Oyster- Try these in your next omelette, stew or use them as a topping on a pizza. They are mild and slightly sweet.
To saute mushrooms, heat butter in a little oil (to keep the butter from burning.) Get the butter hot so that you will hear the mushrooms sizzle as they hit the pan. This is important because otherwise the mushrooms will omit water and steam instead of saute. Cook the mushrooms for 4 to 5 minutes or until tender and lightly browned,
Dehydrated mushrooms are a good choice to stock in your pantry for recipes like risotto. Just remember that you need to soak them in water first before using, otherwise they will be tough and chewy.
I will designate time to cooking mushrooms all at once so that I can use them the next few days in other recipes and all I have to do is just heat them up.