Braised Mushrooms

I love mushrooms!  Pizza, omelettes, salads..I love mushrooms on them all.  I found a beautiful big box of baby portobello mushrooms at the grocery store and decided that they needed to be dinner.

After they were washed and cut in big chunks I braised the mushrooms in a little bit of broth to really bring out the mushroomy flavor and create a delicious sauce.  Herbs were added and these braised mushrooms were a tasty dinner when added with mashed potatoes or polenta.

I did try them with pasta, and while very good the sauce kind of got lost beneath the pasta.  When I ate the braised mushrooms with mashed potatoes the sauce got captured and acted a lot like gravy!  It was such a good dinner.

Just a heads up, while braising the mushrooms do cook down a little.  I used 24 ounces of mushrooms, and Dustin and I devoured them as a meal.  I would cook about 48 ounces for 4 people--which is a lot of mushrooms, but they're so good you'll eat them all!

Braised Mushrooms
Author: Happy Food Happy Home

Serves 2

2 tablespoons butter

1 clove of garlic, minced

½ teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon thyme

salt

½ teaspoon pepper

24 ounces baby portobello mushrooms

1 cup chicken broth

1. Wash the mushrooms. Cut them into large chunks.  I cut most of mine in half.
2. Melt the butter in a large high sided skillet over medium heat.
3. When butter is melted add the minced garlic and toast for 30 seconds.
4. Add the thyme and oregano, and heat for 15 seconds.
5. Add the mushrooms.  Top with salt and pepper  Toss the mushrooms in the butter and herbs, then allow to sit and brown for 1 minute. 
6. After 1 minute stir the mushrooms.  Stir occasionally, about once a minute, until mushrooms start to release moisture--approximately 5 minutes.
7. Add the broth to the mushrooms.  Scrape the bottom of the skillet to release all the delicious flavor there.
8. Bring mixture to a simmer and allow to cook and reduce for about 5 minutes.
9. Taste the mushrooms for seasoning.  Add more as needed. 
10. Serve braised mushrooms over mashed potatoes or polenta. 

To make vegetarian--Replace butter with olive oil or butter substitute, and chicken broth with vegetable broth. 

Braised mushrooms make such a great meal.  They taste meaty and delicious, and are a super filling vegetable based dinner.  I hope you try to make these soon!