My family has always loved mushrooms. They are a staple at my Thanksgiving celebrations every year.

My mother always made her mushrooms by boiling them down in a flavorful liquid. We enjoyed them that way for years until I discovered the roasting technique that I will share with you today.

Ann Burrell (one of my favorite chefs and author) always says that brown bits are good.

I have discovered that she is right. 

Roasting and scraping up those tasty brown bits give a recipe a whole new flavor dimension.

This is a combination of my mother’s recipe and my own. I learned to roast the mushrooms first and then combine them with  the delicious liquid to cook them down.

Browning the tomato paste also adds to this luscious recipe.

It may seem like a lot of steps, but the recipe is easy and worth every minute!

 

Ingredients for the Roasted Mushrooms

1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms (about 1/2 cup), soaked in 1 1/2 cups of warm water for a few minutes.
2 1/2 pounds of mixed fresh mushrooms
3 sprigs of fresh thyme (tied with cooking string)
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary (tied with cooking string)
2 sprigs of fresh sage (tied with cooking string)
1/4 cup of good extra-virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons butter
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 cup of shallots, finely chopped
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 cup of Marsala wine
1 1/2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
1 tbsp kosher salt, divided in half
1/2 tsp. pepper

Squeeze out the water from the dried porcini mushrooms and roughly chop.

Clean and chop the fresh mushrooms into medium slices.

Take the thyme, rosemary and sage sprigs and wrap a piece of cheesecloth around them.

Place the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat.

When the butter has melted, place the onion and shallots and half of the salt and stir.  Cook for about 6-8 minutes or until the onions are soft and shiny but not brown.

Take the onions out of the pot, and set aside.

Place the mushrooms in the pan. Do not mix or move them for about 2-3 minutes. You want them to brown. After 2-3 minutes, give them a stir and do not move them for another 2-3 minutes. You might have to do this in batches.

When mushrooms are roasted, take them out of the pan and set them aside.

Place tomato paste into the pan and let it brown (about 2-3 minutes).

Add the mushrooms back into the pan along with the onion mixture.

Pour in the Marsala wine and let it cook down for 5-7 minutes. Scrape up all of  the brown bits that are sticking to the pot. This is the caramelization that produces the tastiest part! 

Add the chicken broth and herb bouquet to the pan. Bring to a boil. 

Reduce heat back to medium low and cover 3/4 of the pot.

Let it cook for about 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently. Mushrooms will start to shrink down.

You may need to add a little extra chicken broth to the pot as the liquid starts to evaporate. Watch carefully!

When the mushrooms are softened, and the sauce has thickened, remove the herb bouquet and season with remaining salt and pepper.

So Good!

It’s that simple!