Extremely simple, suprisingly delicious. Mushrooms are a great fall food--true, you can get them earlier, but it feels good to eat such a woodsy food when the woods are turning such pretty colors!
Mushroom growers are a pretty neat bunch. They seem to make a very deliberate choice when they go into fungi-farming. Growing (usually) on a bag full of sawdust, mushrooms require the sort of care that reminds me of keeping a pet bat. It has to be dark. It has to be cool. And it has to drink your blood. Juuust kidding. Happy Halloween!
Mushrooms with Walnuts
(note: walnut oil is pretty pricy, but it's damn good. If you can't splurge, a virgin olive oil is good. Try not to use cheap oil, as mushrooms pick up bad flavors easily.)
Ingredients:
Walnut oil, for the pan
1 shallot
Garlic, to taste (I used 2 cloves of Keith Stewart's Rocambole)
10 small mushrooms of your choice
Handful of walnuts
Saute garlic and onions together until onion is soft and translucent. Add mushrooms and cover pan. Lower heat and let the mushrooms cook 'til soft, stirring as necessary to prevent burning. Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in a toaster oven or your oven for about 5-6 minutes, until the bitterness goes. (Or simply add the walnuts right after you add the mushrooms to the pan.)
Serve on whole-wheat bread, on top of eggs, or with pasta and a white cheese. Put it on your pizza! Eat it in your pajamas! Whatever you'd like.
