Crispy Sauteed Mushrooms

Looking for a quick and easy side to make for dinner? Are you bored of your usual go-to healthy vegetables?  Do you want something hearty yet healthy?  Are you cooking for a vegetarian or vegan and not sure what to make? This deeply flavorful mushroom recipe is the exact thing you are looking for!

Description

This is a wonderful and flavorful side dish, and also stands well as a filling and flavorFULL main dish. I think it pairs beautifully with anything you dream up for a meal — delicious with any chicken, fish, or beef dish and lovely with pasta as well.  It’s a perfect “Meatless Monday” dish with quinoa or wild rice.

I adore mushrooms.  Almost in any form.  My favorite way is sauteed, but not just a regular saute, a nice looong saute, where the thinly sliced mushroom gets nice and crispy.  In our house, we literally can not have enough! It’s one of the things we fight over!  I love handling food and infusing it with my good energy.  Mushrooms are a perfect vehicle for that since you have to snap off the stems. Somehow, that small snap is JUST SO SATISFYING!

Speaking of meatless Mondays, I get a lot of frantic calls from clients and friends when a vegetarian friend is coming to dinner. You don’t have to make a weird tofu-and-something bake.  Or go buy some processed meat.  Or only serve pasta.  This is what I often make for dinner when I am eating vegetarian, which coincidentally this year has been most days. This is what I make most often when my kids have a vegetarian friend over and I’m not making dal (Ha! Ha!)

I think mushrooms get a bad rap and people feel like they don’t care for the texture.  I understand.  I see you.  I, too, don’t care for raw mushrooms.  If you grew up disliking mushrooms, give this one a try, with an open mind.  This one is flavorful with a dry, crispy texture.  It’s an all-around WINNER.

 Don’t forget to load up your plate — as I mentioned, this is one that we all fight for in our family — no matter how much I make, it disappears from The Healthy Family Table!  I jest, but really, there is something pacifying in mushrooms, those nights at our dinner table, I just feel like the conversations are longer, deeper, and we are even more connected. I’m not saying these mushrooms will have your kids sharing their deepest secrets and desires…but, anything and everything helps, right? It’s those nights when everyone is relaxed, eating what they love, that the magical conversations happen.  As the cook, your secret is that it was easy, it was simple, it was fast…and it was a healthy weeknight dinner. Kudos to you! 

Inhale the earthy goodness of sauteed mushrooms and butter – and send appreciation to Mother Earth for all the goodness that has and continues to come your way…  

Equipment

Cast iron skillet if you have it

Large pan, if you don’t

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons of fat — coconut oil, olive oil, ghee, or a mix

2 — 4 cloves garlic, depending on how much you love garlic

8 ounces or two large handfuls of mushrooms

Thyme, two or three stems

Parsley or  tarragon if you happen to have it around

Steps

  1. Crush the cloves of garlic or mince to small bits or slice thinly.  
  1. WIth a damp paper towel, wipe the mushrooms to clean.  Using your hands, snap the stem off the mushroom.  Feel victorious! Thinly slice the mushroom caps, slice the top of the mushroom stem, discarding the bottom third.
  2. Warm a large saute pan on low heat, after it warms, add the first Tablespoon of your cooking fat of choice.  I love a mix of ghee and olive oil.  Add garlic and the thyme to the pan.  Stir often so the garlic cooks but does not burn. Is there anything as promising as the smell of the garlic slowly caramelizing in oil? It’s HOME.  
  3. Add the mushrooms to the pan — don’t worry that the pan will be very full.  Gently toss so all the mushrooms are coated with the oil.  Now may be the time to add the second Tablespoon of oil. Rapidly, the mushrooms will shrink.  Stir every few minutes.  Turn the heat to medium.  Now, let the mushrooms sit so they get a bit crispy. After 5 minutes, stir so a new layer is on the bottom crisping up.  
  4. Sprinkle it with sea salt, black pepper to taste.  
  5. Sprinkle liberally with parsley, chives, or tarragon.

Substitutions

If you don’t have the herbs, it’s really not an issue.  The mushrooms will still taste FABULOUS!!

Storage

If you have any leftovers, they store well for up to a week in a glass container in the refrigerator.  

Lucky Leftovers

This would be delicious with your morning scramble of eggs or in an omelet.  I love adding it to my salads or mixing it in with the next night’s sauteed kale.