Monday Mash-Up: Mushroom Rosemary Recipe

Many people have been talking about “Meatless Mondays” lately, to the point that even the most carnivorous of us have been implementing this into our dinner routines. The movement has gotten so big that Oprah even joined forces with food experts Michael Pollen and Kathy Freston to institute “Meatless Mondays” at her company, Harpo Studios. Not only does it cut your grocery bills, but going meatless is better for your health, too. Interestingly enough, going veg just for one night can get you out of a dinner rut, also.

When meat-eaters think about not eating meat, they often wonder: what the heck do you even eat? I’ve found that going meatless, even if for just one night, actually makes you try different things and become more creative with your cooking (one of my favorite meals is here.) There is so much you are missing out on when you rely on chicken or steak to fill you up, and when you no longer have the usuals to fall back on, you focus more on flavors, heartiness of vegetables, and other sources of protein. Not to mention the fact that both you and your wallet will slim down, too.

Along with meatless Mondays, I have been doing what I call “Monday night mash-up” in my house – which is really just a fancy term for “raid-your-fridge-and-pantry-and-make-concoctions-out-of-what-you-find.” (Thankfully, my husband has an open mind and a sense of humor.) Luckily, the success rate has been high, and it’s given me plenty of ideas for quick meals and easy side dishes with minimal ingredients. Below is one of my favorites. It’s a recipe for mushrooms with rosemary, and it’s versatile enough to go with any dish. For a quick and no-fuss “meal”, serve it over bread.

Ingredients

2 packages of mixed mushrooms (i used cremini and shiitake)

1 medium onion, diced

1/4 cup sherry wine vinegar

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary (or 2 tbsp dried rosemary)

s&p to taste

Rinse mushrooms and wipe dry, then chop and set aside. In a medium sized skillet, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil and one tsp of butter. Once heated, add half of the diced onions and saute for about 5 minutes.

Add half of the chopped mushrooms to the pan (as we learned from Julia, “never crowd the mushrooms.”) Sprinkle a little s&p on top and stir. Let cook for about 5-7 minutes, until the  mushrooms cook down a bit and release liquid. Once done, transfer to a bowl. Repeat process with other half of onion and second batch of mushrooms.

Once the second batch of mushrooms has cooked, add the first batch back into thepan so now the entire mixture is in the skillet. Add the sherry wine and rosemary, and let cook until the wine evaporates (your kitchen will smell delicious at this point). Once finished, serve alone on top of toast, add to your favorite soup, or top over grilled or baked eggplant.

*Leftovers idea: fold this into your morning omelette – delicous!!!