This is genius, so hats off to Adam Ried and his associates at Cooks Illustrated, where somebody suggested something absurdly clever — soaking mushrooms in a little salty water for a few minutes to make them especially moist after roasting. We don’t know who wanted to pair the roasted mushrooms with parmesan and pine nuts, but we know why this is the best roasted mushroom recipe going. (This recipe calls for shiitake mushrooms… if you’ve never tried them you are in for a treat.)
As you can see from the simple list of ingredients, everything you need is at the supermarket, and these mushrooms pretty much cook themselves once you put them on a baking sheet and set them in the oven.
Mushroom heaven!
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds cremini mushrooms trimmed and left whole if small, halved if medium, or quartered if large
- 1 pound shiitake mushrooms stemmed, caps larger than 3 inches halved
- 2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 2 tablespoons butter unsalted, melted
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 ounce parmesan cheese grated (1/2 cup)
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts toasted
- 2 tablespoons parsley fresh, chopped
Servings:
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. dissolve 5 teaspoons salt in 2 quarts room-temperature water in large container. Add cremini mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms to brine, cover with plate or bowl to submerge, and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Drain mushrooms in colander and pat dry with paper towels. spread mushrooms evenly on rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with oil, and toss to coat. Roast until liquid from mushrooms has completely evaporated, 35 to 45 minutes.
- Remove sheet from oven (be careful of escaping steam when opening oven) and, using thin metal spatula, carefully stir mushrooms. Return to oven and continue to roast until mushrooms are deeply browned, 5 to 10 minutes longer.
- Combine melted butter and lemon juice in large bowl. Add mushrooms and toss to coat. Add parmesan, pine nuts, and parsley and toss. Season with salt and pepper to taste; serve immediately.
Sandi says
Are there any other nuts you would recommend using besides pine nuts? My family do not care for them.
Robyn Doyon-Aitken says
When I just can’t justify the cost of pine nuts for an everyday recipe (I will splurge for company!) I almost always sub in small roasted sunflower seeds. They are saltier than pine nuts, for sure, but I find I like the flavor in a pesto or as a salad topping just as much. Of course, for this recipe, use whatever toasted nuts you like. I might chop up some toasted walnuts since they have a woody, earthy flavor that might enhance those same notes in the mushrooms.
Nikki says
I also really like walnuts for both pesto and for this recipe… I’ve also used chopped, roasted pecans for a sweeter taste.