Circle B Kitchen
There are so many things you can do with these beautiful sautéed mushrooms, but topping a slice of perfectly grilled bread is one of our favorites. Fresh herbs really make the flavors pop, but I often like to use a teaspoon of my Tuscan Herb Salt when fresh herbs aren’t handy. You can also use dried herbs, just cut the amounts in half. If using the Tuscan Herb Salt, you may not need to add any additional salt. Just taste as you go, adding more or less to your preference. For a more substantial repast, top your mushroom bruschetta with a fried egg and you’ve got a nice, simple and delicious meal. If you like, you can turn your bruschetta into a fried egg panini. I’ve included instructions for that below.
Ingredients:
Several slices of rustic bread (about 4-6)
10 oz crimini mushrooms
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon each chopped fresh sage, rosemary and thyme (see headnote)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1 ½ tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 to 4 oz of blue cheese, crumbled
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
(optional, 1 fried egg per toast)
Wipe the mushrooms with a paper towel to remove any bits of dirt and then slice off the stems and slice the mushrooms. I like to leave the slices a little on the thicker side so they keep their texture while cooking.
Heat a medium sauté pan over high heat until it’s pretty hot. Add the butter and olive oil and when the butter has melted, add the mushrooms. Saute the mushroom until they’ve taken on some good color and begun to soften, reduce the heat and add the herbs, garlic, salt and pepper. Continue to cook for another 5 to 6 minutes and then remove from the heat. Taste for salt and pepper. The mushrooms should be cooked through, but not too soft.
While the mushrooms are cooking, brush the bread slices lightly with a bit of olive, sprinkle with a little salt and place on a grill pan until they’ve taken on some color. You want them crisp on the outside, but still a little soft on the inside. When both sides are done, remove from the pan. You can also do this in the oven or under the broiler.
Top each piece of bread with some of the mushroom-herb mixture and then sprinkle with blue cheese and chopped parsley. Serve warm.
If opting to top your bruschetta with a fried egg, you may leave out the blue cheese if you like.
For the Mushroom Bruschetta Panini…
For each Panini:
While your grill pan heats up, top 2 slices of bread with a slice of provolone or muenster cheese. Spoon some of the mushroom-herb mixture on one of the slices, top with a fried egg (optional) and then the other slice of bread. Brush the outside pieces of the bread with a little olive oil and place on the heated grill pan. Place a heavy pan on top to weight it down and when the bottom bread has good grill marks, flip the sandwich over and replace the pan on top (of course, you can also do this in a panini press) and continue cooking until the cheese is melted. Remove from the pan, slice in half and eat while still warm. And yes, sometimes the egg yolk breaks from the pressing, but that all depends on how cooked the yolk was before placing in the Panini. The broken yolk just provides a wondrous sauce for the mushrooms. Enjoy!