Tyler Florence

Mushrooms marinated in white balsamic vinegar bring a whole new level of magic to your mouth. Because they are little sponges, the mushrooms absorb the flavors that they are soaked in, and when you take a bite, you get a squirt of deliciousness. 

For a period of time after my retirement from the City of Riverside, I hit the craft fair circuit, and  sold adorable weck jars of marinated mushrooms. My artist son-in-law Javi designed fancy labels for my product line: Mangia. How was I to know that a decade later I would still like the word enough to use it as a title for this collection of recipes and narratives? 

I like to serve the marinated mushrooms (a French dish) as appetizers. At one of my most recent dinner parties. We called it, “Oui, Oui, Tour of Paris Dinner Party” and friends Kurt, Melanie, Paul, Monty, Chani, Marilyn, Lorelei, and Greg quickly devoured these.

Ingredients

• 2 lb Cremini or button mushrooms (cleaned, half or quartered)
• 2 T Lemon Juice
• 1 ⅓ C White balsamic vinegar
• 1 C White wine vinegar
• ⅓ C Honey
• 2 T Thyme 
• 4 t Whole peppercorns
• 2 ½ t Kosher salt
• 3 Cloves of garlic (minced)
• 6 T Shallots (minced)

Directions

• In a large stainless steel, enamel, or non-stick saucepan, combine mushrooms and lemon juice, then soak for 10 minutes.
• In a medium saucepan, combine balsamic vinegar, wine vinegar, honey, thyme, peppercorns, salt, and garlic. Bring the mixture to a boil, stir to dissolve the honey. Reduce the heat, simmer covered for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in shallots.
• Pack mushrooms into sterilized half-pint canning jars. Leave a half-inch headspace. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the mushrooms, distributing the thyme, peppercorns, and garlic evenly among the jars. 
• Wipe off the rims of the jars, adjust the lids, and screw on the bands. Process the jars in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes. Start timing when the water begins to boil. 
• Remove from the canner and cool on a wire rack.