Thursday, October 18, 2012

Mushrooms on Toast

I know mushrooms (much like olives) tend to polarise people. Some people hate them, but Andy and I love them. We don't buy them very often, because they are usually about $10 a kilo - which isn't very much when you consider how light they are, but is a mental hurdle we struggle to jump. But when we do see them for a little bit cheaper, we tend to get a lot of them. And, in the interests of using them when they're nice, rather than letting them go slimy in the fridge, we tend to use them as feature ingredients.

One of our favourite uses for mushrooms is breakfast-style, on toast (sometimes for dinner, or lunch, but breakfast-style, anyways). Breakfast mushrooms are quick to make, filling and tasty, and take very little in the way of actual cooking skills. Basically, perfect for a weekend morning. They are also easy to vary. Our favourite way to have them is in the form of Creamy Breakfast Mushrooms, which I'll post a recipe for below, but sometimes we saute them with olive oil and balsamic, or with lime and soy, or just with butter (nuttelex, obvi) and salt & pepper.


So here, step by step, is how I put together a cafe-style breakfast in less than 15 minutes.

Creamy Breakfast Mushrooms

Put a skillet on medium-high heat. Take 4 slices of bread out of the freezer (unless you don't freeze your bread, of course!) to thaw. Peel and thinly slice a clove or two of garlic. Put the garlic, along with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and/or butter in the frying pan.

Grab your mushrooms, wipe any obvious dirt off with a tea towel (don't wash mushrooms - they absorb the water, or something, and it makes them go a bit yuck), and slice them thickly. If you can find them on special, or don't mind paying for them, pre-sliced mushrooms make this SO QUICK.

Put them in the pan with the garlic, and stir them around. The hotter you cook them, the better, because they brown quickly without losing all their liquid and kind of... stewing.

While the mushrooms cook, put 3 tablespoons of corn flour in a jug. Mix in the juice from half a lime, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, and about 1/3 of a cup of coconut cream. Whisk this together until it's smooth. While you're doing this, stir the mushies every now and then.

If you have some, dash outside really quickly and grab some parsley, and give it a quick chop.

When the mushrooms just start to soften, put your bread in the toaster.

Re-mix up your corn flour mixture and then immediately pour it into the pan with the mushies, and give it a good stir. It should thicken pretty much straightaway. Let it cook for about a minute, and then turn off the heat. Stir in the parsley, and taste to see if it needs salt or pepper.

When the toast is done, you can put on some butter if you're feeling indulgent, or just put it on the plate and scoop some mushrooms on top.

Enjoy!

13 comments:

The New Epicurean said...

I love the idea of putting coconut with mushrooms. I've had incredibly cheap king oyster mushrooms down here in Melbourne, so I'll have to give your recipe a go this weekend!

Hannah said...

Love the coconut cream idea! I'm the same way about snagging mushrooms as soon as they drop to, say, $6, and I love making a quick saute of red onions, garlic, balsamic, rosemary, and mushrooms, and serving it on creamy polenta made with soymilk and nuttelex. Coconut cream will be happening next time, though!

FoodandLoathing said...

Yeah, mushrooms on toast! I should link to this on my most-recent blog post about super-easy vegan meals for college students who aren't super-experienced cooks.

Joey said...

I swing between love and loathe on the mushies front - normal white mushrooms creep me out, but shiitakes are like crack.

Wonder if they'd go with coconut milk? Only one way to find out!

Theresa said...

Oh yeah, I should point out for non-Aussies that coconut cream here is just thick coconut milk. I think in America it is sweetened? But this stuff isn't.

Kari said...

I love the idea of coconut milk...whilst I really enjoy mushrooms, I don't do very much experimental with them; they mostly go in stir fries. I might need to branch out!

Mel said...

Is the coconut flavour strong? I really like the idea of creamy mushrooms on toast but am not too keen on strong coconut flavours. I usually only like coconut when it's in a very spicy curry.

urban vegan said...

I love mushrooms on bread. I have a recipe in UV for a remake of SOS (Shot on a Single of WWII fame) and also a vegan Philly cheesesteak using 'shrroms. I can get enough and there are so many varieties from $ to $$$$$$$$. Happy weekend, guys!

x said...

Oh yum! This really does look like something you'd get in a cafe but I'd never think to make it, I just tend to cook mushies plain or thrown into recipes.

Thanks for sharing your recipe :)

Kate said...

Yum! I will try this ... Thanks for the idea!

vegan.in.brighton said...

I love mushrooms on toast & I always serve them with parsley too.

urban vegan said...

I love these, too! Thanks for the creamy-dreamy recipe.

My first cookbook had a bad-pun recipe for Shiitake on a Shingle, from WWII fame. (Hee-hee!)

I just don't understand how some folks hate mushrooms, but then again, some folks don't get why I hate okra.

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