Marinating on mushrooms

Love mushrooms but hate how quickly you have to eat them? YFM’s got your back with our marinated mushroom recipe.

Although cultivated mushroom varieties are available throughout the year in Australia, autumn and winter are definitely the best times of year to go foraging for some of Australia’s best wild mushroom varieties. Two of the most common include saffron milk caps and slippery jacks which are often found in pine plantations around Australia.

The only issue with mushrooms is that they don’t have very long shelf-lives. Their porous, spongy texture readily absorbs moisture in the fridge and air, which can cause them to become soggy and rot. This is why it is always best to store mushrooms in a paper bag on a shelf in the fridge. The paper absorbs water moisture in the air and  prevents the mushrooms from rotting.

Here at YFM, we’re always looking to create new tasty links to seasonal food. As it’s Winter, we figured it’s the perfect time of year to share a great recipe for preserving the delicious earthy flavour of mushrooms for the months ahead.

The Greeks, for instance, have preserved fresh produce in olive oil or other fats to extend its shelf life for centuries, especially during colder months of the year when it became harder to gather food.

Cooking the mushrooms in vinegar adds a awesome tartness, while the olive oil and herbs impart their wonderful flavours and aromas into the fungi during marination. Also, can you beat the hip-ness of a jar of marinated mushies with a bottle of red wine as a gift? If you’re looking to put on an impressive spread, they can also be served with toasted bread and herbs for a great bruschetta entrée.

Let’s get our marinade on.

• 300mL white vinegar
• 300mL water
• 500g mushrooms (button, swiss, portobello or wild mushrooms), lightly scrubbed to remove dirt
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp salt
• 4 shallots, white stems only, don’t toss those greens before you check our no food waste hack below!
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves chopped
• 2 sprigs thyme, leaves chopped
• 25 mL apple cider vinegar (or  white vinegar)
• Olive oil

Cook ‘em. Place the white vinegar and water into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the mushrooms (whole or sliced) and cook for 5 minutes. Drain the mushrooms in a colander and allow to dry.

Flavour ‘em. Add the mushrooms to a clean glass bowl with the sugar, salt,  bay leaves, garlic, rosemary, thyme and apple cider vinegar. Feel free to use whatever herbs and spicy tickle your fancy. Season with pepper to taste. Toss to coat.

Store ‘em.  Divide the mushrooms among sterilised glass jars and pour over enough olive oil to completely cover the mushrooms. Cover and store in the fridge for 2-3 days, leaving to marinade before eating.  Pile   on  crusty bread as a starter but make sure they’re room temperature before you shove them in your gob (appreciatively, of course).

Hack it.

• Save your shallot greens, finely chop and stir through soups or curries. They can also replace onions so you don’t need to get all soppy in prep.
• Brush the  leftover marinade oil over hot toast, seriously, it’ll change your life.
• Fresh mushrooms should  keep for 1-2 weeks in the fridge if stored right as noted above.

 

Image credit: @brendonthesmilingchef