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| To match a Russian Feast... Marinated Mushrooms Griby, Marinovannye v Tomatnom Souse no appetizer table can be complete without at least one mushroom dish - I n g r e d i e n t s - Mushrooms - 4 1/2 Pounds white button mushrooms, washed and trimmed Olive Oil - 1/2 cup, high quality Lemon - 6 Tbs of freshly squeezed juice, this will take 2 or 3 lemons Onion - 3 large Yellow or White, sliced Garlic - 5 to 7 cloves, crushed Black Pepper - 1 tsp, freshly ground Marjoram and Thyme - 3/4 tsp each, dried or fresh if you are growing it Bay Leaves - 4 Turkish bay leaves Tomatoes - 2 28-oz cans of plum tomatoes drained and chopped, reserve the juice Vinegar - 1 1/2 Cups high quality Red Wine vinegar Sweetener - 1 1/2 tsp Honey Hot Sauce - 1/4 tsp of a hot pepper sauce, could be Tabasco -or- Cayenne powder Salt - To taste Garnish - if desired - T o o l s - Knife, Cutting Board, Citrus Juicer, Large Mixing Bowl, Measuring Cups and Spoons Large Frying Pan with Cover, Spatulas for turning and scraping A Half-Gallon and a Quart Canning Jars with wide-mouths A beautiful, bright, multi-colored Serving Bowl and Spoon - T h e B i g P i c t u r e - This is best if done a week before, but you can do it a couple of days before the feast. These are rather central on the appetizer table, so if you find another interesting mushroom (Costco often has them) make a second batch with those, but don't mix varieties in the same batch. I do not suggest Crimini or Portabellas because they get too dark in color. Even though Russians are nuts about collecting them, Please, NO wild mushrooms. Yes I know they are so good, but.... - T h e M u s h r o o m S a u t é - At least 7 to 2 days before, wash and trim the mushrooms. Depending on the size of your frying pan, you will need to do the sauteing in batches. Of the 1/2 cup of Olive Oil total, put the appropriate fraction of it in the frying pan depending on your number of batches, and heat over medium+ heat. Sauté until just tender, but take them out before they start to shrink, this is important. Transfer them to the large mixing bowl, but do not add the expressed juice from the mushrooms. Use it for something else. Once transfered, toss with the 6 Tablespoons ( 2 oz ) of freshly squeezed Lemon Juice. Repeat the tossing for each batch added. Keep the mixing bowl in the refrigerator when you are not using it. - T h e R e s t o f t h e S a u t é - In the same large frying pan, heat the 6 Tablespoons of Olive Oil over medium+ heat. Finely chop your 3 large or 4 medium-small Onions. You can cut some into rings for visual variety. Crush 5 to 7 cloves of Garlic. Sauté the onions and garlic until they get soft, but not browned. Add the Black Pepper, 3/4 teaspoon each of Marjoram and Thyme, and the 4 Turkish Bay Leaves whole. Sauté a bit more, then add the 4+ cups of chopped Tomatoes from the 2 cans. Also add 3/4 cup of the reserved tomato juice, the 1 1/2 Cups of Red Wine Vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of Honey, and 1/4 teaspoon of Hot Sauce or a scant 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne. It will seem like there is too much vinegar, but don't worry. Simmer covered over low heat for 25 minutes. Let cool and transfer to the large mixing bowl with the mushrooms. Toss, and transfer that to the tightly covered storage containers, something like a half-gallon jar and a 1 quart jar. Refrigerate for the 2 to 7 days before the feast. - T o T h e A p p e t i z e r T a b l e - On the morning of the feast, get out your container of mushrooms and transfer the mushrooms the whole mixture to a beautiful, multi-colored serving bowl. If you want to garnish with curly parsley around the edges, it will look nice. And a little flat parsley sprinkled on top of the mushrooms will give a little color. Add a slotted serving spoon and you will make quite a contribution to the feast. We would like to thank Darra Goldstein The author of At the Dacha, Russian Home Cooking This book is out of print, and it must be loved because it's hard to find used ones, but she has others. Go to Amazon.com and type in Darra Goldstein in the search box. We have adapted her recipes here and there, but done under the watchful eye of Andy Zaharoff. Krassimira Rector cooked this recipe and we thank her for the editing and corrections. Next Page |
