Of Mushrooms and Citrus

So recently, I was gifted with rosemary and mint (and a cucumber) from my good friend, Kevin. The mint was easy to put to use. It's an herb often used in various Thai dishes, and it was just a fistful of mint anyway. I could chew on that stuff straight. It was the rosemary that posed a problem. It was an incredibly generous amount of rosemary and I hardly cook with rosemary. I've occasionally thrown it into a dish that featured lamb or beef, but I otherwise have a big tub of it, dried of course. However, fresh herbs are my weakness, and their ability to brighten a dish knows no bounds. Unfortunately, my adventure with rosemary coincides with an upcoming move to a new apartment, and I'm trying to deplete the excess of my current fridge so I can proceed to fill the new one with excess (can't help it, I'm a food hoarder).

And so it was that Monday found me staring at my fridge, looking at a jar of rosemary standing in water and a packet of mushrooms. It also had me staring a frozen packet of spinach and tofu, but let's keep it simple. Mushrooms sauteed in butter with garlic and red onion are always tasty. Though I normally use parsley, what I had was rosemary. So in it goes. A splash of brandy, some salt and pepper, and goodness, did those mushrooms smell marvelous. And they tasted... almost marvelous. There was an acidity missing, to cut through the richness of the butter and the flavor of the brandy. And here's where I discovered something amazing. I had a bottle of ponzu (ponzu being a Japanese soy sauce that's flavored with citrus, the resulting taste being salty with a lemon-y sourness) out on the table to accompany the tofu burger I made to go with these mushrooms. I decided to add a bit to my mushrooms, and the angels began to sing in heaven. It was a perfect match.

So if you happen to have ponzu knocking about your fridge, and you're about to saute up a mean pan of mushrooms, give it a splash of the good stuff. You might be surprised too. But just in case you want to know exactly how I did it, here's my recipe below:

Rosemary Mushrooms sauteed in Butter, Brandy, and Ponzu

Ingredients

1 packet/pint of baby bella mushrooms, sliced (but other mushrooms should sub just fine)

2-4 cloves garlic, minced (I like garlic, I add a lot but please, adjust to taste)

1-2 tbsp butter (again, to taste)

about 1/2 tsp of fresh rosemary, minced

1/4 - 1/2 red onion, minced

1 tbsp brandy

1/2 - 1 tbsp ponzu

salt and pepper to taste

1. Tip: When cleaning mushrooms, don't wash them under water. It makes them absorb the water; you'll end up with too much liquid when you cook them. Instead, brush the dirt off with a stiff brush (I used a pastry brush). I do use water if there's a stubborn, large clump of dirt, and immediately dry with a paper towel. Thanks to the Naked Chef for teaching me this!

2. Melt the butter over medium heat, then add the onion. Stir fry for a few minutes, until onion is translucent.

3. Add garlic and continue to stir fry until garlic is fragrant.

4. Add mushrooms (usually, I salt and pepper a bit at this point, but not too much; we're adding ponzu later and it's salty). Stir fry until mushrooms are wilted and just about cooked, about 5-10 minutes.

5. Add brandy, ponzu, and rosemary. Continue to cook for a few minutes to let the brandy cook off.

6. Taste and add more salt/ponzu if needed.

It was so good, I'm making a repeat of this dish later this week and spooning it over rice. I'll update with a photo. It'll look like a mess, but I'm going to be smiling as I shovel it in my mouth.

p.s. If you don't have red onion, use shallots, or regular white/yellow/vidalia onions. Heck, I'd probably use green onions instead if I had to, or omit them altogether. Other herbs can sub for the rosemary too, like parsley, but I'd omit the brandy if you're using something delicate tasting like that. I think it might overwhelm the flavor. Then again, I'm not really sure, and I've never tried it so if it sounds good to you, experiment away! That's why the kitchen is so awesome. ^.^