How to quickly marinate mushrooms

There was a time when I used to buy a jar of marinated champignons for every family dinner. Over time, I learned to can mushrooms myself, and there are always rows of jars with homemade marinated champignons in the pantry. And yet sometimes I crave variety! I have many recipes for marinating mushrooms for the table without canning them. I have tried honey and orange marinades. But my favorite is still wine-mustard. To prepare such mushrooms, you need a few ingredients, all of which are completely accessible. I am sure that during the pre-holiday days, any hostess will have everything she needs in the refrigerator and cupboard. I have almost nothing to add to the list of dish ingredients, except perhaps three items: wine, vinegar, and oil. According to the original recipe, dry white wine is used. According to logic and culinary science, everything is correct. But often we become hostages to circumstances when we cook at home, for our loved ones, I think that we can deviate from the classic options. For example, I often used semi-dry and semi-sweet wine - and the mushrooms always turned out delicious. As for olive oil, undoubtedly, it will give a more intense and rich flavor (and useful, of course!). However, if desired, you can use any vegetable oil. And finally, vinegar. Balsamic vinegar is my favorite. But there were times when I didn't have it at home at the right moment. And then I confidently used any other: ideally - apple, but I also added table vinegar - it turned out a bit sharper, but equally delicious!

This appetizer is prepared very quickly! Judge for yourself. Prepare the mushrooms. Fresh mushrooms should be thoroughly washed under running water, removing any excess film. I prefer not to peel the mushrooms, I don't see the point in that. In my opinion, good washing and removal of what can be removed is sufficient :) If you have small mushrooms, you can leave them whole. And if they are larger - like this time with me - you need to cut them in half or into four parts. Light the stove, put a non-dry pan on it, pour wine into it and put the mushrooms. Yes, no oil. Yes, without preheating the pan. Our task is to evaporate the wine along with the natural liquid of the mushrooms (as you know, mushrooms release a lot of liquid when fried). To speed up the evaporation process, without any hints of stewing, we make a fairly strong fire. This stage of cooking will take about 5-7 minutes. As soon as all the liquid evaporates, we will brown the mushrooms on the already dry pan for literally a few seconds.

While the mushrooms are bathing in wine, let's prepare the marinade. It only takes a couple of minutes. First, finely chop the garlic and parsley. I suggest making the mushrooms according to this recipe for the first time, with the basic set of ingredients, and then you can replace the herbs according to your taste, vary the amount of garlic, etc.

Now, immediately in a large bowl, mix the marinade. To do this, combine olive oil, grainy French mustard, balsamic vinegar, chopped garlic and parsley, add sugar and salt. Mix the marinade (there is no need to overdo it and beat it, simple mixing is enough).

By the time the marinade is ready, the mushrooms will be ready too. Now, you need to put the hot mushrooms into the prepared marinade. Mix them well so that each mushroom gets the attention of the marinade. That's it! As soon as the mushrooms cool down, they can be served immediately! Agree, it's very simple and quick to get an exquisite appetizer.

However, the beauty of this recipe is that you can prepare this appetizer in advance, even a few days before the festive feast. Ready marinated mushrooms can be packed into jars and sent to the refrigerator to await their moment of glory. And as soon as you serve the appetizer table, you just need to take out the mushrooms from the jar and serve. Homemade marinated mushrooms differ favorably from their store-bought counterparts. And it's not just about the cost. Although, if you compare how much a jar of store-bought mushrooms and a jar of homemade mushrooms will cost you, you will be very surprised by the huge price difference! But the most important thing is the taste and benefits. Have you noticed that the taste bouquet of store-bought marinated products is often overpowered by vinegar? In the case of homemade preserves, you can vary the amount of vinegar to your taste. Moreover, I dare to suggest that in this recipe, vinegar can be easily replaced, for example, with lemon juice. Do not forget that the recipe includes wine, which itself is also considered a preservative. And the way wine is used allows each piece of mushroom to be infused with the wine aromas. Another advantage of homemade marinated mushrooms is that you will be well informed about the freshness and composition of the ingredients you use. Don't forget, mushrooms are a low-calorie food. So, enjoying them as an accompaniment to alcoholic beverages is not only delicious but also balanced (considering the high calorie content of any alcoholic drink). I wish you delicious and joyful holidays!