When I was a child in Canada the 1940s, (I am now 86) my grandmother and I would occasionally go into "town " (Vancouver) shopping . Lunch was always at a restaurant named Honeydew, and my meal of choice always mushrooms on toast. They were prepared exactly the same as in your article, except I remember that I remember they were heavy on the fresh ground pepper. which was my favorite thing. The Honeydew itself was similar to an Orange Julius. Thanks for bringing back wonderful memories.
3
Add a thin layer of goat cheese on the bread, then top with the mushrooms for a really nice appetizer.
Bon Appétit
Try spreading some goat cheese on the toast before piling mushrooms. Adding some toasted rosemary makes it even better.
For wine I would recommend cru Beaujolais, gigondas or aglianico with some age.
For wine I would recommend cru Beaujolais, gigondas or aglianico with some age.
1
Judging from the pile of black stuff and a spoon, it looks like the cook scooped out the mushrooms' gills and discarded the bits and pieces.
This was not listed as a recipe step.
This was not listed as a recipe step.
I don't think it's part of the recipe. It's illustrating different types of mushrooms. With those super-large mushrooms on the left, wouldn't you want to discard most of the "black stuff," using the actual "meat" of the mushroom in the dish?
"...otherwise they’ll just simmer in their own juices...."
She is correct. What a discerning cook will do before cooking is eliminate much of the water naturally found in cleaned, raw mushrooms by severely wringing them in a shroud of paper towels or cheesecloth.
A noble embellishment to this simple dish consists of spreading toast squares with soft, baked brie before topping with the mushrooms. Oh, Lord!
She is correct. What a discerning cook will do before cooking is eliminate much of the water naturally found in cleaned, raw mushrooms by severely wringing them in a shroud of paper towels or cheesecloth.
A noble embellishment to this simple dish consists of spreading toast squares with soft, baked brie before topping with the mushrooms. Oh, Lord!
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Years ago (before I liked mushrooms) I went with my sister to Chez Andre in suburban Washington, D.C. She ordered garlic mushrooms on toast and let me try a bite. So good we ordered a second helping. I'll give this recipe a go.
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We made this tonight! It was not quite as brown and juicy as expected; we think our pan was not hot enough, and then we missed the right time (they got juicy much faster than expected) to stop cooking and then the juices evaporated. It was a bit of a fail, but....it was still pretty darn good. It seems like a "live and learn" type of recipe that gets better with experience. Even our failure was pretty delicious. There's something good about simple food with few ingredients.
Mushrooms on Toast are fantastic, but I always add a bit of Lea and Perrin's for a bit of a kick.
Intrigued by the simplicity of this recipe and that fact my mother loved mushrooms on toast, on my way home from work yesterday I picked up a loaf of freshly baked sourdough bread, a package of mixed cultivated mushrooms and some heavy cream. I had flat leaf parsley and thyme growing in pots back at the house along with garlic and good butter. Got out our 100-year old cast iron pan with a copy of this recipe in hand. What a satisfying and simple meal. The sourdough bread and mushrooms were a perfect combo. Good food does not have to be complicated. Thanks again.
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Darn tasty recipe and extra easy.
Much thanks!
Much thanks!
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The recipe sounds delicious, but I find it just as tasty with pasta cooked "al dente". The mushrooms provide a rich contrast to the flavour and texture of the pasta. The mixture works well with rice or polenta, as well. In terms of the "bloody hot" pan, good spacing of the mushrooms is equally important if you want some browning. Do not crowd the pan: that can compensate for not being able to heat up the pan to "bloody hot".
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I grew up in England where my mother would use large inky field mushrooms in her cooking. I've never found the equivalent here, but I suppose portobellos come close. A week or two after leaving high school, a couple of friends and I vacationed in Pembrokeshire, Wales. We went out early one morning and picked enough field mushrooms to fill several baskets. Then we cooked a huge amount in butter — no garlic or herbs — and had them on toast for breakfast. That was 45 years ago, and I still remember how scrumptious those mushrooms were.
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If you know mushrooms, inky caps would do well, but htey usually grow in hedge/wood edges.
I've been making an iteration of this from a recipe by Susan Hermann Loomis regularly for over a decade now. It includes a good deal of white wine, creme fraiche, and fancier mushrooms. It's nearly as nice with more basic creminis or button mushrooms, and I like to add a little tarragon.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/creamy-mushrooms-on-toasted...
It's one of my favorite things to eat, all the more reason to try a variation! I can't have enough mushroom recipes.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/creamy-mushrooms-on-toasted...
It's one of my favorite things to eat, all the more reason to try a variation! I can't have enough mushroom recipes.
How do you eat it, with a knife and fork or just pick it up like a giant bruschetta?
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oh my gosh! With a knife and fork of course! The British wouldn't dream of eating it with their fingers!
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Mushrooms on toast is our family's 'go to' meal if anyone is feeling poorly and of course we eat with our fingers!
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Definitely will be making and I'll follow the "recipe." I usually put a splash of balsamic in when I saute mushrooms with meat but I'll forgo to see how this turns out.
At high heat, 6-8 minutes is too long. Try 3-5 max., as per Julia Child.
The greens in your photo look more like chopped parsley than thyme.
1
Some of us must survive on less-than-divine iterations of simple classic food, but I don't feel unduly deprived.
I think my home lovely, but it's a rental apt. with an open-plan kitchen/dining/living room, with sensitive smoke alarms and sprinklers everywhere, even in the closets. Last month a grease fire in someone else's fourth-floor apt. caused a cascade of water all the way down that line (thank God not mine.) I have no range hood; only an exhaust filter on the microwave above my stove. The window is far away across the room.
That "bloody hot pan" would cause disaster.
I've stewed mushrooms in butter all my adult life, and have greatly enjoyed them, and when I make them for something where less liquid is desired, I let it reduce after the initial sautee. No, they're never quite as brown as shown here.
But they are delicious and I do enjoy them. I'll never have Deirdre's kitchen. This was an enjoyable read. But many "best techniques" are impractical for the way many of us live.
I think my home lovely, but it's a rental apt. with an open-plan kitchen/dining/living room, with sensitive smoke alarms and sprinklers everywhere, even in the closets. Last month a grease fire in someone else's fourth-floor apt. caused a cascade of water all the way down that line (thank God not mine.) I have no range hood; only an exhaust filter on the microwave above my stove. The window is far away across the room.
That "bloody hot pan" would cause disaster.
I've stewed mushrooms in butter all my adult life, and have greatly enjoyed them, and when I make them for something where less liquid is desired, I let it reduce after the initial sautee. No, they're never quite as brown as shown here.
But they are delicious and I do enjoy them. I'll never have Deirdre's kitchen. This was an enjoyable read. But many "best techniques" are impractical for the way many of us live.
2
Does your kitchen have a window? I open mine and put a fan in the doorway - it helps a lot.
2
Why, oh why, did you deprive us of the snippets of video of the "intrepid" Deirdre in her "spacious, light filled kitchen" in the "old family manor" in its "idyllic setting"? This story cried out for video! The recipe, even so, looks delicious.
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It was just a quick chucked together video to get it all recorded as Deirdre's never been one for actually writing anything down.
It rambles on a bit, but now it's made just thought it ought to be seen, especially as you've asked, hope this works, apologies for the minor profanity, it sort of slipped out in the excitement of it all...
https://youtu.be/XONyKa-t8L4
It rambles on a bit, but now it's made just thought it ought to be seen, especially as you've asked, hope this works, apologies for the minor profanity, it sort of slipped out in the excitement of it all...
https://youtu.be/XONyKa-t8L4
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Holy cow! Can't wait to try this! Thanks to Richard & Deirdre!
I need to run to the store Right. Now.
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I make this for myself frequently during the winter, at any time of day or evening. I love it.
It is something my mother cooked for me as a child. I was the youngest of five, and a very picky eater.
My mother was not a very good cook, nor did she enjoy it. Especially having to accommodate so many stomachs. Mushrooms on toast was so easy and managed to satisfy at least one of us.
She was of English heritage though I never considered it part of her identity, (nor did she, as far as I know). It never occurred to me this dish might have come through her relatives, but perhaps so. What a nice thought!
It is something my mother cooked for me as a child. I was the youngest of five, and a very picky eater.
My mother was not a very good cook, nor did she enjoy it. Especially having to accommodate so many stomachs. Mushrooms on toast was so easy and managed to satisfy at least one of us.
She was of English heritage though I never considered it part of her identity, (nor did she, as far as I know). It never occurred to me this dish might have come through her relatives, but perhaps so. What a nice thought!
10
This sounds delicious and easy (I have a tiny kitchen and elaborate meals are a pain). And Deirdre sounds really fun! I lover her no-nonsence communication style. More recipes from her, please.
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My mom loved it, we kids called it "Fungus on Toast".
3
It makes an excellent filling for a French-style omelette too.
9
The hot skillet is the trick and using clarified butter means you can crank the heat up even more. I add a bit of lavender to the thyme seasoning. Grilled sourdough brushed with olive oil is usually the base but I have used baguettes too.
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Great recipe for Lent as well as every day! Thank you, Deirdre, for sharing.
Please more recipes that one does not have to go to the net for some expensive ingredients.
Please more recipes that one does not have to go to the net for some expensive ingredients.
3
My mom after made this for us and I still go back to mushrooms on toast for an easy dinner.
But I agree. How to fry mushrooms does not require a recipe...it's about frying technique. Have a good thick bottom pan and please heat up first.
Reminds me of the time my brother asked me for my recipe for fried mushrooms (for his girlfriend). Stunned I said I use butter and mushrooms. Don't have a recipe. Many years later I was asked how I grate a nutmeg....I give up!
But I agree. How to fry mushrooms does not require a recipe...it's about frying technique. Have a good thick bottom pan and please heat up first.
Reminds me of the time my brother asked me for my recipe for fried mushrooms (for his girlfriend). Stunned I said I use butter and mushrooms. Don't have a recipe. Many years later I was asked how I grate a nutmeg....I give up!
5
I enjoy English cooking, especially by a no-nonsense cook.
Any chance you might print a good recipe for steak and kidney pie?
Any chance you might print a good recipe for steak and kidney pie?
Oh, great. I will get nothing done at work today because now all I can think about is mushrooms on toast... nomzzz...
3
Occasionally I head to a mushroom farm that I know, where they grow many varieties -- mainly for restaurants, but will also sell at the farm gate if it's not a shipping day. I've tried many recipes with these mushrooms, but my favourite is definitely mushrooms on toast.
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Sure looks like parsley...
This reminds me of one of the most memorable meals I have eaten. Years ago, while traveling in the southern part of India, we visited a hill station, Munnar. At our home stay (B&B), they served us mushrooms on toast. Oyster mushrooms with a knob of fresh (from their own cows) butter. Divine. still memorable.
1
HAmmersley's Bistro in Boston perfected this appetizer. Sadly the restaurant has closed, but their mushroom app was so great that I could never order anything else for the first course!
All I could think of as I read this was how much I miss Hamersley's and all of Gordon's wonderful treats.
In the photo of the mushrooms, the pan looks wildly crowded. Sautéing mushrooms in this manner ends up steaming them.
1
Mushrooms on toast was a breakfast staple in my family, introduced by my English father. Preferred mushrooms were wild field mushrooms, and the whole thing was sprinkled with a little flour and then cream (or milk if that was all we had) was added to make a cream sauce. Salt and pepper was the only flavoring. It was delicious. I still make it if I have a few mushrooms in the fridge.
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Thanks goodness for the English breakfast -- totally awesome.
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My mother made mushrooms on toast for her breakfast but she also loved next-day cold pizza with butter. The mushrooms on toast I get, the cold pizza never. Thanks David for re-igniting a memory I had long forgotten.
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Worcestershire is always a nice addition to mushrooms.
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Some coarsely chopped white onion sautéed with the mushrooms would go well with this.
3
Consider a sercial or bual Madeira as a great alternative to fine wines suggested.
3
I arrived to the office this morning contemplating various menus to fulfill the Easter weekend, and this article definitely got my palate sensors excited. I think with a few thin slices of grilled Lamb and Pinot Noir will make this a fulfilling appetizer.
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First we get a week-long push for the incredibly novel innovation of an egg-and-cheese on toast (with added peppers, wow, makes it so exotic!), and now a feature on dumping fried mushrooms on toast?
I like simple and easy comfort food as much as the next person, but can the dining coverage go back to impressive dishes/processes now? Or can I expect the next feature to be on microwaved popcorn?
I like simple and easy comfort food as much as the next person, but can the dining coverage go back to impressive dishes/processes now? Or can I expect the next feature to be on microwaved popcorn?
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This IS an impressive recipe. It tastes good. Not every meal requires a two day adventure in shopping, chopping, and prep work. I also liked the egg on cheese toast. It's good simple fare. This recipe is also similar to one by Lidia Bastianoch in which she creates an appetizer with sliced bread on a sheet pan covered with sautéed mushrooms. I've made it. It's good. Everyone at the party liked it.
Get a grip. Your comment is unhelpful and puerile.
Get a grip. Your comment is unhelpful and puerile.
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It's not so easy to do microwave popcorn correctly. Great idea for an article!
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I think you are missing the point. Great food need not always need a lots of ingredients and an elaborate process. Recipes like these taste great because they bring the best out of even simple ingredients. Also, please don't gloss over the human touch involved in cooking.
Even if the mushrooms on toast are so easy to make, it would be hard to replicate the same flavor as Dierdre has. There's that little something every cook does which makes their recipes. This cannot be captured in writing. No wonder you have Richard wonder "That's all?
Even if the mushrooms on toast are so easy to make, it would be hard to replicate the same flavor as Dierdre has. There's that little something every cook does which makes their recipes. This cannot be captured in writing. No wonder you have Richard wonder "That's all?
7
Can we have a beans on toast recipe next pls?
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An excellent recipe that does not forget to recommend the wines.
As a devoted mycophage or mushroom-eater, I am troubled by no-details given on the kinds of mushrooms in the recipe. On the photos, they seem to be white mushrooms or champignons de Paris, certainly a most common kind of mushrooms found in food stores. Slightly better may be the porcini (cèpes) and chanterelles, fried only slightly, would also be a very good choice.
As a devoted mycophage or mushroom-eater, I am troubled by no-details given on the kinds of mushrooms in the recipe. On the photos, they seem to be white mushrooms or champignons de Paris, certainly a most common kind of mushrooms found in food stores. Slightly better may be the porcini (cèpes) and chanterelles, fried only slightly, would also be a very good choice.
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Tuvw, the recipe calls specifically for Portobello or Cremini. Did you even read it? The article is not the recipe.
1
The mushrooms in the photographs are Portobello (with the gills scraped out)
and Crimini (aka baby Portobello)...just as listed in the recipe.
and Crimini (aka baby Portobello)...just as listed in the recipe.
1
The recipe recommends portobello or cremini.