Bobby Flay's Grill It! - Bobby Flay [46]
Mushrooms shouldn’t be cleaned with water unless they are extremely dirty. A brush or a kitchen towel is best for wiping away any surface grit. Mushrooms become easily water-logged and, in addition, wet mushroom caps quickly become slimy. As for mushroom storage, take them out of plastic and store in a paper bag in the vegetable drawer of your refrigerator. Most will last about a week, but the firmer, drier types such as fresh shiitakes and morels can last up to two weeks.
While raw mushrooms can be nice in a green salad, I almost always prefer them cooked. Grilling is an optimal way to transform mushrooms into something bigger, deeper, and heartier than they ever could be in their raw state. Other methods of cooking mushrooms almost always utilize some sort of liquid or fat; grilling doesn’t. So what you end up with is the pure, unadulterated, heat-concentrated flavor of the mushroom and nothing else. Regardless of their final presentation, all sizes of mushrooms can be easily grilled, no special grilling basket needed. If you want them sliced—just do it after they come off of the grill! It’s a pretty simple answer to a commonly asked question.
Marinated Grilled Portobello Mushrooms
The steps of this dish are somewhat reversed from what one normally thinks of when it comes to marinating: the mushrooms are grilled before they sit in the marinade, not after. The grilled mushrooms absorb a tremendous amount of flavor as they rest. This is an Italian style of preparing vegetables and I like to serve these as a part of an antipasto platter with meats, cheeses, olives, and the like.
Serves 4
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Pinch of red chile flakes
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
½ cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 medium portobello mushrooms, stems removed
¼ cup canola oil
Heat your grill to medium.
Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, garlic, red chile flakes, thyme, and parsley in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. The marinade can be made 4 hours in advance and refrigerated.
Brush both sides of the mushrooms with the canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the mushrooms on the grill, cap side down, and grill until golden brown and slightly charred, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the mushrooms over and continue grilling until just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes longer.
Remove the mushrooms from the grill and cut into ½-inch-thick slices. Place the mushrooms in a large bowl, add the marinade, and toss to coat. Let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. The marinated mushrooms can be made 4 hours in advance and refrigerated. Serve cold or at room temperature.
French Bread Pizza with Mushroom Pesto and Fontina Cheese
Classic pesto is an uncooked sauce made of olive oil, basil, pine nuts, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. However, pesto has advanced beyond this traditional preparation and today you can use just about anything to create your own unique version. Mushrooms are a great choice because of their incredible texture and earthy flavor. This isn’t your neighborhood pizza parlor’s mushroom pizza.
Serves 2 to 4
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1½ pounds cremini or white button mushrooms, stems removed
¼ cup canola oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves roasted garlic
¼ cup walnuts, toasted
½ cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 loaf French bread or round loaf of bread, sliced in half lengthwise
10 ounces fontina cheese, grated (2½ cups)
Place the porcini mushrooms in a bowl and cover with boiling water.