Pickled mushrooms

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This fantastic pickled mushrooms recipe is spectacularly simple to make and is bursting with flavour. Serve with oily fish or meat as part of a summer barbecue, or prepare this recipe for a dinner party when you want to go the extra mile with your side dishes.

First published in 2016
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This is a fabulous recipe that I found in my grandma’s journal. When I first tasted it I couldn’t believe how simple yet sophisticated it is; how much it altered my view of what mushrooms can do; and how little it associated with the grotesque kind of British party food pictured in vintage cookery books from the 1950s and 60s.

You needn’t bother with any canning or sterilising to make this pickle, although you do need to start it ahead of time to let the mushroom slices marinate in vinegar solution. This effectively ‘cooks’ the mushrooms through denaturation – in much the same way citrus juice does raw fish in a ceviche. The result is a mushroom that retains both its freshness and its firmness, with a subtle earthy flavour that is enriched with good olive oil and Dijon mustard and brightened with the acidity of the pickling liquor and fresh herbs - go right ahead and use whatever you have to hand.

The dish works perfectly with grilled or barbecued oily fish such as mackerel, and makes an unusual addition to a summer spread of salads. To my mind it’s the perfect way to display how clever you are at cooking without really doing any cooking at all.

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Pickled mushrooms

Method

1
Slice the mushrooms, chop the shallots finely and place in a large bowl. Cover with the vinegar and boiling water and leave covered at room temperature for 2 hours, stirring occasionally
2
Strain the mushrooms and shallots reserving a little of the vinegar. Stir through the chopped herbs
3
Stir together the Dijon mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper and a splash of the pickling liquor to help emulsify. Drizzle the oil dressing over the mushrooms when ready to serve
4
These mushrooms work beautifully with grilled or barbecued oily fish, best eaten on the day of preparation
First published in 2016
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Writer and illustrator Chloe King is founder of the food lovers’ book club Cook the Books.

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