Tag Archives: Salt

Brined Mushrooms (Like The Kind You Get In A Jar)

Sometimes you need a pantry staple to add to other dishes. This recipe for Brined Mushrooms (Like The Kind You Get In A Jar) fits the bill nicely.

Brined Mushrooms (Like The Kind You Get In A Jar) is a pantry staple to have on hand in the freezer to add to the dish of your choice.
Photo: Cynthia Dalton

OK, let’s be honest. Who among us hasn’t bought a box or two of mushrooms only to lose them somewhere in that excavation site known as our refrigerator?

I sure have!

Now truthfully, mushrooms slightly past their prime lose their moisture and firm texture, but they gain in concentrated, ‘mushroomy’ flavor. It’s a trade-off. This recipe for brined mushrooms was born out of two needs — to use up some sad mushrooms before they were past all help, and to recreate the same, I hate to say it, almost rubbery (in a good way) texture as the mushrooms you get in a jar.

Why would I want to achieve the latter, you ask?

Since you asked, because, once upon a time I was a vegetarian (insert laughter here from people who know me now). Back then, I created a mock linguine and clam dish, using jarred mushrooms as ‘stand-ins’ for the clams. I would chop up those squeaky, chewy, briny, meaty, mushroom morsels and along with some garlic, chopped green onion, white wine, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, cracked black pepper, crushed red chili flakes, and dried kelp flakes I had a respectable dish. In fact, it was a delicious, surprisingly ‘oceany’ dish, if I do say so myself.

It just so happened that one day I wanted to cook up that pasta dish, but I didn’t have a jar of mushrooms. I did have fresh, or should I say, ‘fresh-ish’ mushrooms in the fridge. I remembered trying a recipe, like this one, for Vegetables à la Grecque. The recipe is essentially vegetables of your choosing (cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, etc.) poached in an aromatic liquid (which reduces and intensifies as the vegetables poach) and  marinated in a mixture that includes the flavorful poaching liquid.

I remembered the texture of the mushrooms, post-poaching, as very similar to brined, jarred mushrooms. I decided to try my hand at simmering the mushrooms in salted water to see if that too, would be similar, and it worked.

Now, I routinely buy mushrooms in bulk and reserve some for this recipe. I store half cup increments in freezer bags in the freezer (note: they do get a little meatier and chewier once frozen).

Why have these on hand?

Well, brined mushrooms lend a nice meatiness to a quick pasta sauce, pasta or rice salad, or marinated veggie salads. Finely minced, they add nice complexity to vegetable relish recipes — the kind used for pressed sandwiches. They also work well in egg dishes, such as scrambled eggs, or individual frittatas (perfect for lunch, with a quick reheat in the microwave at home or at work).

Brined mushrooms have many uses. I’d love to hear your culinary suggestions for their use in the Comments section below.

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Brined Mushrooms (The Kind You Get In A Jar)
These store in the fridge for several days and can also be frozen for longer storage (although they do get meatier and chewier once frozen - which, for most applications, isn't a problem as far as I'm concerned). However, this batch can be scaled upwards and if you know your way around canning, that's certainly another storage option, in which case I presume you'd want to retain the brining liquid. © The Working Lunch Project
Brined Mushrooms (Like The Kind You Get In A Jar) is a pantry staple to have on hand in the freezer to add to the dish of your choice.
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Course Multi-Use
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
(1/2 cup portions)
Ingredients
Course Multi-Use
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
(1/2 cup portions)
Ingredients
Brined Mushrooms (Like The Kind You Get In A Jar) is a pantry staple to have on hand in the freezer to add to the dish of your choice.
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. In a large saucepan, combine water and salt and bring to a boil.
  2. Add the sliced mushrooms to the boiling salted water, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
  3. Drain hot mushrooms, spread mushrooms onto paper towels, pat dry with additional paper towels and allow to cool completely. Store covered in the refrigerator for several days, or freeze for longer storage.
Recipe Notes

Nutritional facts per serving (Please note: numbers are for reference only — the exact amount of salt retained by mushrooms may vary from batch to batch):

29 calories

0g fat

349mg sodium

4g carbs

2g fiber

3g protein

 

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Toasted Szechuan Peppercorn Salt

This recipe for Toasted Szechuan Peppercorn Salt is a great seasoned salt to have on hand, lending an Asian flair to many dishes.

Toasted Szechuan Peppercorn Salt is a recipe that uses toasted ground Szechuan peppercorns mixed with fine sea salt for a a seasoned salt with Asian flair.
Photo: Cynthia Dalton

Sometimes the difference between a really great lunch and just a ho-hum affair is experimenting with new and different flavors. This is why a few homemade seasoned salt recipes are great to have in one’s pantry — it just keeps life interesting!

Seasoned salts can add a note of something special to all kinds of simple mainstays, such as an otherwise innocuous scoop of cottage cheese or the ubiquitous boiled egg.

So, here’s my take on Toasted Szechuan Peppercorn Salt. Some recipes call for toasting the peppercorns in some oil before grinding but I don’t find the oil necessary. I just toast the peppercorns in a dry skillet on medium high heat for about 3 minutes or until the peppercorns fill the kitchen with their fragrance. Once cooled, I grind them in a spice grinder, run them through a sieve, and mix them with fine sea salt.

I do find that salt blends don’t really taste their best until they’ve had a chance to sit in a cool, dark, dry place for 2 or 3 days, so plan ahead on this one.

For some additional information on Szechuan pepper and to visit a really fun site with some interesting recipes, check out Omnivor’s Cookbook.

You’ll find lots of different spellings for these peppercorns — Schezwan, Sichuan, or Szechuan to name a few but anyway you spell it, the flavor is unique. It’s somewhat citrusy, somewhat floral, has a bit of a gingery sting (but it’s not too hot), and is slightly astringent, as in balsam or pine. Toasting does seem to cut way down on the slight numbing quality on the lips and tongue that these peppercorns possess.

Szechuan peppercorns* aren’t really peppercorns at all, but are actually a dried berry. Here’s more information on Szechuan peppercorns from The Epicentre.

I hope you enjoy this recipe for Toasted Szechuan Peppercorn Salt. Please use the Comments section below to share your thoughts.

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Toasted Szechuan Peppercorn Salt
You'll know when you've got the Szechuan peppercorns toasted to perfection — your kitchen will be filled with a hard to define pine-meets-vanilla-meets-citrus scent. © The Working Lunch Project
Toasted Szechuan Peppercorn Salt is a recipe that uses toasted ground Szechuan peppercorns mixed with fine sea salt for a a seasoned salt with Asian flair.
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Course Lunch, Snack
Cuisine Asian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Passive Time 2-3 days
Servings
servings (¼ teaspoon each)
Ingredients
Course Lunch, Snack
Cuisine Asian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Passive Time 2-3 days
Servings
servings (¼ teaspoon each)
Ingredients
Toasted Szechuan Peppercorn Salt is a recipe that uses toasted ground Szechuan peppercorns mixed with fine sea salt for a a seasoned salt with Asian flair.
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. In a dry skillet, on medium-high heat, shaking frequently, toast the Szechuan peppercorns until their aroma starts to fill-up your kitchen.
  2. Remove from the heat and transfer to a paper towel to cool.
  3. When Szechuan peppercorns are cooled, transfer to a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder.
  4. Force the powder through a small seive and combine with the fine sea salt.
  5. Store in a glass jar in a cool, dark, dry place for 2 to 3 days to allow the flavor to permeate the salt and develop.
Recipe Notes

Nutritional facts per serving:

0 calories

0g fat

590mg sodium

0g carbs

0g fiber

0g protein

 

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