Mushroom Salad, Italian-American Style
Makes: 4 servings
Time: About 1 hour
M V
A vinegary, almost-pickled mushroom dish that can also be used as a garnish or condiment as well as a topping for green salad. It’s also good tossed with chopped Belgian endive (figure 2 heads for this amount of mushrooms) or other bitter greens.
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound button or other mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
- Salt and pepper
- ¼ cup minced onion
- 1 tablespoon slivered garlic
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley for garnish
- Put 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they give up their liquid and begin to brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Lower the heat a bit and add the onion; cook until the onion softens, another 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally until fragrant and soft, 1 to 2 minutes more. Turn off the heat.
- Transfer the mushrooms to a bowl and stir in the vinegar and remaining tablespoon oil. Let cool to room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Garnish with the parsley and serve. Or let sit at room temperature for another hour or 2 before garnishing and serving.