Mushrooms on Toast

Great Britain gets a pretty bad wrap for their food. Really, I’m not sure why. They eat like Hobbits, which is pretty damn good in my book. What’s not to like about berries with clotted cream? Or a meat pie in flaky butter pastry? Rhubarb jam with fresh biscuits? You’re telling me you don’t like fish & chips? Roast dinner? Sure, curry may be a national favorite, but that’s not because the traditional cuisine isn’t worth seeking out. If you’ve ever eaten a well-prepared meal in an English countryside home, you know what I’m talking about.

But I digress.

What I do know is that I would like to formally thank the UK for Mushrooms on Toast. What a beautiful invention. And when done properly, one of the great things to eat on a weekend while the rain drizzles. Topped with a poached or fried egg, it’s a perfect breakfast. Served with a side salad of simply dressed arugula and you have a solid lunch. It’s 2am and you’re drunk? Have somebody more sober than you whip this up and you’ll be worshipping them.

The basic ingredients are:

- Mixed Cultivated & Wild Mushrooms (Beech, Cep, King Trumpet, Oyster, Honshimeji, Porcini, Baby Shiitake, Cinnamon Cap … or whatever else you can get your hands on.)
- Lipid of choice (50/50 Olive Oil & Butter works for me but if you have duck fat or rendered pork fat, then rock on)
- Wood Herbs such as Thyme, Sage, and/or Rosemary
- Thinly Sliced Garlic & Minced Shallot
- Dry White Wine
- Roasted (Brown) Veal Stock
- Heavy Cream
- Griddled Toasts 

The basic procedure is:

1) Prep all of your mushrooms to roughly the same size. That might mean tearing some by hand and slicing others. Go for rustic. You don’t want a perfect mince for duxelle. This is a woodsy, rustic dish and the mushroom prep should reflect that.

2) Prep the wood herbs by stripping them from their stalks. If the thyme is young and tender, feel free to leave it whole. Same goes for Rosemary. You can use whatever you prefer. Marjoram or Oregano might also work here but might not compliment the mushrooms as well.

3) Heat a film of olive oil in a large pan and swirl in the butter. When it begins to foam and sizzle over medium-high heat, add a single layer of the mushrooms to the pan. Do NOT overcrowd. You aren’t trying to make mushroom soup, so don’t stack and steam them. Let them brown and sizzle and caramelize. Add your herbage. Your kitchen will fill with the intoxicating earthy smell of mushrooms. Season with salt & pepper. Work in batches if you need to. Once all your mushrooms are browned, combine them in the pan (if you’ve worked in batches) and add the shallot & garlic. Turn down the heat if needed to make sure the garlic doesn’t burn.

4) Crank the heat to full whack and deglaze with white wine, scraping up the bits and reducing the wine until nearly completely dry. Add a bit more if needed. Then add veal stock (which should be heating in a separate pan so it goes in hot). Let bubble rapidly and tighten around the mushrooms. When it’s very saucy and showing off that lovely sheen that only a great brown stock can show, swirl in a bit of cream to loosen the sauce. Reduce again until it’s perfect. 

5) Taste and re-season as necessary. Cream needs salt, so you’re probably going to have to adjust here.

6) Spoon generously over excellent toast. You can add some fresh soft herbs such as chives or parsley. Here I have some excellent farmer’s white style bread from a local baker that mills her own wheat. It’s pretty phenomenal. Enjoy with a great glass of beer or perhaps some cheap, slutty Burgundy.