Roasted mushrooms

I've been working at a stand at the Dupont farmers market on Sundays in exchange for minimum wage and vegetables (more on that later), and sometimes I get to take home some mushrooms from the vendor next door.

Having only really had packaged supermarket mushrooms (except for this one time!), I was blown away by the taste and texture of these fresh and organic ones. First of all, I've always thought that I don't like raw mushrooms because they taste like styrofoam, but these mushrooms, even when raw, taste incredibly tender and flavorful.



Aside from using them in risottos, my new favorite way to eat mushrooms is definitely roasting them in garlic and butter. It's quick, relies mostly on pantry ingredients, and tastes phenomenal. The mushrooms soak up all the flavors from the butter, garlic, lemon juice, and briny capers to acquire a wonderfully juicy and meaty texture.



The mushrooms make a great side dish with bread to sop up the sauce, and if you feel a bit guilty about all that butter, the dish also makes a great salad-topper. After all, it has all the components of a great dressing, and a little butter never hurt a salad.

Roasted mushrooms with garlic
From Smitten Kitchen

1 pound of mushrooms, cut into 1-inch pieces, if needed (I used cremini and portobello, but most mild-tasting types would work)
2 tbs capers
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs olive oil
3 tbs butter, cut into pieces
juice of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 450F. Toss mushrooms with all the ingredients, except butter, in a shallow baking dish or oven-proof pan. Sprinkle the cubed butter on top and roast until mushrooms are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, but frankly, I didn't need any.