Mushrooms in a Lemon + Mustard Vinaigrette: An Accidental Recipe

Well I started out with some beautiful shitake mushrooms, and after requesting some lovely recipes from my twitter friends, (@ChefFrankyG provided me with some great tips,) I realized that I didn't have the resources or ingredients to make the recipe I wanted to and couldn't acquire said resources or ingredients because of this dang freezing cold snow! So what did I do? I rummaged through my pantry and refrigerator and decided to conduct the Great Mushroom Experiment of 2011 (titled for posterity and ridiculous emphasis,) and you know WHAT? They came out delicious! Go figure! So of course I had to share the recipe with my legion of fellow foodies and friends, and now, my accidental mushroom success is available for duplication in your very own kitchen!

Mushrooms in a Lemon and Mustard Vinaigrette

Ingredients

For the Mushrooms....

1 bag of mushrooms (I had shitakes but your favorite kind would work just as well)

1/3 cup cold pressed extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 garlic clove (mashed)

Salt and Pepper

For the Vinaigrette....

1 lemon

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

Salt (to taste)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

About 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Handful of chopped parsley (for garnish on top)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2. Wash mushrooms thoroughly (with a mushroom brush, do NOT submerge mushrooms under water, there's already plenty of water inside mushrooms and submerging them will take all flavor out of them and make for an entirely yuck-inducing dish!)

3. Slice mushrooms lengthwise and THIN (the thinner they are the crunchier they will become when roasted, so if you like your mushrooms with some crunch, think thin thin thin!)

4. Place mushrooms on ungreased baking sheet

5. In a bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, mashed garlic clove. Whisk until well combined,

6. Pour this mixture over the mushrooms and toss them on the baking sheet until each mushroom is well coated in the "roasting juice."

7. Roast mushrooms for 15 minutes. And while they're roasting.... let's get toasting on the vinaigrette...

8. In a bowl combine the zest and juice of 1 lemon with 2 tablespoons dijon mustard, salt to taste (but try to under-season the vinaigrette because we are going to salt those mushrooms that are now roasting happily in your oven...)

9. DING! 15 minutes up? Take mushrooms out of oven and season with salt and pepper. Transfer mushrooms to serving bowl and drizzle vinaigrette over the mushrooms. Toss to coat in vinaigrette. Take about 1 handful of chopped parsley and mix it into the mushroom bowl. (Save about 1-2 tablespoons to use on top as garnish.) Top with a bit more parsley and enjoy! Accidentally delicious.

This was a great find for me as a burgeoning veg, the mushrooms when roasted take on an almost meaty quality and I found them entirely satisfying as a meal but feel free to incorporate this dish as a side for your dinner or even as a healthy (and yummy!) snack.

Until tomorrow,

Xo