Friday, June 20, 2008
Mushroom Caviar Recipe
Filed under Appetizer, Vegetarian, Wheat-free
Whoever came up with the term "mushroom caviar" must have been in marketing. Mushroom caviar just sounds so much more catchy than "mushroom spread" or "minced mushrooms and shallots sautéed in butter", even though that's basically what it is. Pretty good too, especially if you love mushrooms the way we do.
Mushroom Caviar Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, wiped clean and finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup of minced shallots
- 1 Tbsp dry white wine (e.g. Sauvignon Blanc)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 Tbsp pine nuts
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp chopped parsley
- A couple dashes of cayenne pepper, to taste
Method
1 Melt butter in a large skillet on high heat. Add the mushrooms and shallots. Sauté for 5 minutes stirring frequently.
2 While the mushrooms are cooking, heat a small skillet on high heat. Add the pine nuts. Cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to get a little toasted. (Keep your eyes on the nuts, they can burn pretty quickly.) As soon as they begin to toast, remove the pan from the heat and put the pine nuts into a small bowl. Set aside.
3 While the mushrooms are cooking, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Once they have cooked for about 5 minutes, add the garlic and a tablespoon of dry white wine. Cook for an additional minute and remove from heat. Put mushroom mixture in a bowl, add the toasted pine nuts, and set aside to cool.
4 Once the mushrooms have cooled down a bit, mix in the lemon juice, sour cream, and parsley. Add more salt and pepper, if needed, to taste. Sprinkle on cayenne pepper, to taste. Chill before serving.
Spoon onto a large butter lettuce leaf and serve with crackers. (Use rice crackers for wheat-free option.)
Makes about 1 1/2 cups. Serves four.
