As a young cook, I once called my mother to tell her about something delicious I’d invented.
“I cleaned some mushrooms and poached them in olive oil with a lot of garlic, some thyme, oregano and basil,” I crowed. “When they were done, I mixed in some sliced green onions and chopped parsley. Gosh, they are good!”
“Why, Robin,” my mother said, and I could hear her tongue firmly in cheek in the tone of her voice. “You’ve invented ‘champignons a la Grecque!’” If your French is rusty, that means ‘mushrooms in the Greek style.’
My pride in my culinary creativity was dashed. But I had learned about a good thing to eat, even if some other clever cook had thought it up before me.
I still love marinated mushrooms and make them often. The homemade version is so much better than the grocery deli counter offering that it’s well worth the few minutes and modest effort to prepare these in your own kitchen.
I sometimes use British food writer Elizabeth David’s classic Provencal method — the one to which my mother referred — and poach the mushrooms. David’s recipe makes a sauce of olive oil, a single peeled, seeded and chopped tomato, and classic French herbs and spices — black peppercorns, coriander seed, thyme, and bay leaf.
Heating the spices in the oil allows them to impart their flavors fully. After gently poaching the mushrooms for a few minutes, the flavorful sauce is reduced slightly, then poured over the mushrooms.
Sometimes I make them without poaching by letting them stand in a highly seasoned vinaigrette until I’m ready to eat them. After all, what food isn’t improved with lashings of olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, basil and oregano? I suspect marinated shoe leather would taste just dandy done this way.
But these days, I’m much more likely to give them an Arizona twist. That’s the way I’ve been making them lately, and what you’ll see in today’s recipe.
You can use any mushrooms for these, although button or cremini mushrooms are easiest to find. Buy the whole ones, whatever their size. If they’re large, I trim the stems off even with the caps and quarter them. Smaller ones can remain whole. Portabellos are marvelous marinated this way; chop them into large pieces for easier eating.
The advantage to David’s method is that poaching the mushrooms in the seasoned oil firms them somewhat and helps them to absorb the flavorings more quickly. That’s why I poach them in the recipe I’m sharing today.
But you can also just prepare the seasoned oil and pour it over the uncooked mushrooms and let the mushrooms stand at room temperature for a day to give them a chance to pick up the flavors. If you don’t want to cook the oil, for safety’s sake, use garlic powder or granulated garlic instead of fresh.
If your pantry doesn’t have chiltepins, substitute crushed red pepper flakes, hot sauce or another edible heat source. The mushrooms shouldn’t be peppery hot, but there should be a subtle zing to warm your mouth. I like a few of these marinated mushrooms as an amuse-bouche with a glass of wine at the end of the day. They’re also a nice side to a sandwich, mixed into a tossed salad that might otherwise be lackluster (the poaching liquid can go into your dressing), or just as a snack.
Arizona-style marinated mushrooms
These mushrooms will keep a week in the refrigerator, or about two days on the countertop. There is a slight danger of botulism when raw garlic is stored in oil, but here, both the cooking and the acidity of the lemon juice will protect the refrigerated mushrooms from danger. If you prefer not to cook the marinating liquid, substitute a quarter-teaspoon of garlic powder or a teaspoon of granulated garlic for the fresh garlic.
Ingredients
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice (from about ½ large lemon)
2 tablespoons lime juice (from about 1 medium lime)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds, crushed
1 teaspoon coriander seed, crushed
1 bay leaf
2 chiltepin chiles, or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
8 ounces mushrooms, cleaned and quartered if they are large
Sea salt or kosher salt, to taste
1 to 2 teaspoons chopped cilantro, for garnish
Preparation
Combine olive oil, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic, cumin seed, coriander seed, bay leaf and chiltepin chiles in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for two minutes.
Stir in the mushrooms and let them cook for an additional five minutes. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt.
Allow to cool to room temperature, transfer the mushrooms to a jar and pour the poaching liquid, including the spices and chiles, over them. Refrigerate until serving time.
To serve, drain the mushrooms and toss with chopped cilantro. Place the mushrooms into a shallow serving dish and provide picks so eaters can easily serve themselves.
"We're tough as saguaros," editorial cartoonist David Fitzsimmons says. He says he saw a video made for the people of Detroit and became inspired to do his own take for Tucson.
