The inspiration for this was a combination of a bag of mushrooms in the fridge that needed to be cooked, an ever-present hunger for new & fabulous was to cook mushrooms, and a recipe from
Gourmet magazine (again, inspiration -- mine is definitely a dish with a different flair).
Although this would make a knock-out side dish to just about any beef entree you could imagine OR would be a killer appetizer on a little crostini, I'm eating this whole-bowl style with a hunk of bread as my entire meal. And I couldn't be happier.
1/2 lb. mushrooms (I used plain white button, but baby 'bellas would be stellar!), halved if large
1 sm. - med. red onion, peeled and wedged (through the root)
5 med. cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (approx.)
3 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
a pinch of red pepper flakes
a pinch of dried (or fresh) thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
juice of a lemon (or, in my case, half of one really juicy lemon)
a handful of Italian parsley, rough chopped
1/2 cup red wine
Preheat oven to 450F w/ rack in the middle.
Toss mushrooms and onion with garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme, salt, pepper, and oil in 1.5-2 qt baking dish (glass or earthenware).
Top with 2 tbsp of butter, cut into tiny cubes, and roast, stirring every 5-10 minutes, for about 20 to 30 minutes. The longer you cook past the 20 minute (or so) mark, the less sauce you will have in the bottom of the dish.
Once removed from the oven, stir in lemon juice, parsley, and last tbsp of butter.
Serve immediately, and I highly recommend some (preferably crusty) bread to sop up the sauce.
I'd love to spend more time talking about how much I love love love this dish -- earthy, bright, and hint of spice, almost meaty, hearty (I could go on!) -- but the more I do, the more time I'm spending AWAY from my bowl of mushrooms. So consider this my 'Welcome Back' dish, and you'll be hearing from me again soon. (Fall is coming, after all!)
