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Do you know that is translated from French simply as “mushroom”? But cooking is not linguistics: alas, champignon tastes significantly less than other mushrooms. It is so inferior that many consider champignons to be fake mushrooms, and this, in general, is justified. For a long time I shared this point of view, but over time I realized that champignons also have a bright side, and if you cook them wisely, it turns out that these mushrooms do not deserve the status of poor relatives at all. I’ll tell you – rather chaotically – about my work, designed to help champignons to open up in your dish, and I will be glad if you also share your secrets in the comments.
Good champignon – raw champignon
One of the main advantages of champignon is that it can be eaten raw, and you won’t get anything for it. No, really. Champignons belong to that small cohort of mushrooms that are edible raw (along with porcini and truffles) and are worth using. Thinly sliced champignons can be added to salad and decorate other dishes with them, finally, you can cook champignons like carpaccio, sprinkled with fragrant oil and sprinkled with freshly ground pepper and coarse salt. No flywheels can boast of this.
Garlic, parsley, chili
Champignons have a weak and completely non-forest taste, which means they need help to reveal their potential. The above trio is one of the options, but far from the only one. When you are going to fry the champignons (it doesn’t matter for which dish), first fry the finely chopped garlic in oil, then, when the oil begins to emit an unbearably appetizing aroma, add the champignons, and at the end, with a generous gesture, throw finely chopped parsley and a pinch of ground chili into the pan. Onions, thyme, black pepper, sweet paprika, juniper and other herbs and spices work just as efficiently, the main thing is to choose a harmonious combination that will help to cook the mushrooms deliciously.
White rushes to the rescue
Another way to make the mushrooms taste more voluminous is to add real mushrooms. You can radically improve the taste of champignons by slightly diluting them with wild mushrooms, fresh or frozen. Another recipe for success that works all year round is to take quite a bit of dried whites, grind them into dust, and then use them as a seasoning. This trick always works in cases when you cook pasta, risotto or sauce with mushrooms, in a word, if the role of mushrooms in this dish is rather auxiliary.
Pickled ones – into the firebox!
Pickled mushrooms sold in cans are one of the most meaningless things in the world. Sometimes they are used in salads, but the reasons for this, it seems to me, lie in ignorance of the thesis from the first point: mushrooms can be eaten raw. In general, as a defender of mushrooms, I urge all people of goodwill to stop violence against mushrooms and against themselves, and not buy pickled mushrooms, but instead use fresh ones that can be bought all year round in the market or in the supermarket. The only exception may be the case that you really like the taste of as is pickled mushrooms. In this case, I would be grateful if you would explain to me how they hooked you so.
Grill
Yes, champignon may lack the muscles of forest mushrooms, but it has something different – something that my dearly beloved aspen and boletus mushrooms cannot boast of. Large mushrooms are very good on the grill. By cutting the mushrooms in half, you can grill or grill the mushrooms, or skewer them whole to make a shish kebab. In both cases, I recommend using high heat so that the mushrooms are golden brown on the outside, but remain juicy on the inside. For the sake of fairness, I note that in the Mediterranean countries, even forest mushrooms are often cooked on the grill.
A few words about substitutions
The fact that champignons are sold all year round makes them an affordable substitute for other mushrooms, and in some dishes this substitution will go completely unnoticed. Of course, few people will argue that it is better to use thinly sliced white ones in a pizza recipe with ham and mushrooms (fortunately, and you need very few of them), but with mushrooms your pizza will turn out to be quite decent.
Stuff!
Another unique property that mushrooms owe their shape: they can be stuffed. I often cook stuffed champignons, this is the most classic recipe. However, here everything is clear anyway – carefully remove the legs from large mushrooms, chop them (legs) finely, fry with spices and herbs, stuff the caps with this mixture, add grated cheese and bake in the oven. You can take any cheese, from feta cheese and suluguni to blue cheese, in any case it will be delicious.
Stews, stews and gravies
Mushroom sauces and gravies are another story, but even here mushrooms can perform in a quality that is unexpected for mushrooms. I prefer to take small champignons, cut off the leg to the very cap (throwing the legs away is not necessary, they will go to the broth), quickly fry in hot oil and add to the meat, which is stewed in the sauce, 5-10 minutes before being cooked. During this time, the mushrooms will not have time to completely go limp, retaining a hint of crunchiness, and will be able to advantageously dilute the taste and texture of the meat.
Recipes
- And in conclusion – a few recipes with champignons, which I considered worthy in order to change your opinion about these mushrooms.
- Mushroom julienne
- Champignon pate
- Baked mushrooms
- Champignons with garlic and parsley
- Champignon cream soup
- Pancakes with mushrooms in cream
- Burgundy beef
- Baked fish with mushrooms and herbs
Do you have your own champignon secrets? ..