February 15, 2012
Magic Mushrooms
In our house, the BBQ remains firmly the domain of my husband. He uses it for chunks of meat, slabs of meat, roast meats.... and the occasional token veggie.
Its not that he hates veggies, well, not all of them. Its just that they take up prime grill space and are so fiddly to deal with, a slab of meat just needs to be turned once after all, and isn't likely to roll off the grill.
When I was first asked by The Australian Mushroom Growers Association to write a post for their Summer Mushroom Campaign, http://www.summermushrooms.com.au/ I did some research into these fungilicious little creatures and why we should all be eating more of them.
Mushrooms are little power houses of goodness. Did you know that they are full of antioxidants and are the only non-animal source of vitamin D? They are low in sodium and kilojoules and are fat free too, add to that impressive list the umami characteristics, low cost, and the year round availability and I certainly think we're onto a winner.
With daylight savings extending our evenings, and BBQs still very much on the go for easy after work dinners, it was a logical step to come up with a way to combine the lot.
I wanted to find a way to make mushrooms on the BBQ easy- easy to manage, easy to turn, and easy to eat too. So my mind drifted in the direction of things on sticks...and Rosemary Mushroom Kebabs were born. Perfect solution! Mushrooms mustered into manageable measures, no mucking about! Turn the whole lot at once, just a couple of times, and line them up next to the sausages, not even a hardened carnivore could complain about that.
My only concern was that this was a bit too simple.
Then I thought about it..... I wanted to show how great and easy mushrooms are, you don't need to muck about with fancy-pantsy ingredients to do that. This is just an easy recipe with a few easy ingredients that make a lovely meal.
Sometimes that's all you need.
I like the earthy herbs with mushrooms, they seem to bring out the deeper bass notes and all that umami goodness. Rosemary is in so many home gardens, or at least every corner supermarket, and garlic is an indispensable kitchen companion so in they went to the mix. Yumm... I was really surprised at just how much of the flavour was sucked up into the flesh of the mushrooms. Actually the first time I made these I left them in the fridge overnight before cooking and the taste was amazing, definitely something to do again!
Rosemary Mushroom Kebabs for the BBQ
Mushrooms- 4 or 5 per kebab
Rosemary- nice long pieces
Garlic- as much as you like
Oil- for drizzling
Gather your rosemary sprigs, cut them into pieces that will fit about 4 or 5 mushrooms comfortably.
Strip the leaves off, just leaving a few on top to look pretty, then chop them finely.
Cut the ends of the rosemary sprigs sharply on a diagonal to make them nice and pointy
Trim the ends of the mushrooms if you like, just for looks and uniformity. (I always keep the trimmings to use in sauces, risotto, or other recipes)
Thread the mushrooms onto the sticks of rosemary- don't they look pretty!
Pop them into a dish, toss in a few crushed garlic cloves,sprinkle with the cut rosemary leaves, then drizzle with oil. Use straight away, or leave them for a while to let the flavours infuse.
Fire up your BBQ, toss on slabs of meat if you like, then place on your beautiful mushroom kebabs.
Turn just once or twice to cook evenly, isn't it easy turning a whole stick at once?
Serve your kebabs deliciously hot from the grill, either on their own or next to your slabs of meat.
Lovely.
Simple it may be, but a real winner.
Check out this site for some more great ways with mushrooms:
http://www.mymushrooms.com.au/
So my Dear Readers, do you like to BBQ, and how do you like to serve your mushrooms?
.
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ooooh DELISH! I just *may* be doing a little Sumemr mushroom post of my own soon ;)
ReplyDeleteOooh, looking forward to it Lisa!
DeleteHow I miss mushrooms... they don't like me as much as I like them. Love your skewers with rosemary... a great herb - and so pretty!
ReplyDeleteWhat a pity! Thanks, they look do look rather dishy :)
DeleteLove, love love this idea to grill them on rosemary stalks. I'm so trying this for our next BBQ! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks Lorraine, let me know what you think!
DeleteSuch a great idea, rosemary spring skewers!!! Love it. I adore mushrooms. Ben's mushroom mad though. Loves them. I love to pair mine with garlic and butter or goats cheese. mmmm.
ReplyDeleteHeidi xo
Mmmmm.... goats cheese........ Yumm...
DeleteCan I come to your house for dinner? So much delicious yumminess going on here! Love mushrooms, and sausages of any kind. My dh looks after anything and all BBQ'd. Works for me...then I can focus on the sides...makes for great eating!
ReplyDeleteIna, anytime you like! I usually leave the BBQing to the hubby as well. Good division of labour I say!
DeleteWe sure do bbq! (Oooh that rhymes... note to self... commenting while drinking is not necessarily a bad thing...)
ReplyDeleteI plan to prune the rosemary soon, so will save the trimmings to do this...
Have you tried Jamie Oliver's stuffed onions? He skewers the bacon with a rosemary skewer... YUM!
How is your arm???? XO
I hope it's a gin and tonic- and then I'll join you Janet!
DeleteThey sound just great, I'll give them a go,Jamie sure is a genius.
Slowly, slowly, thanks for asking. Still a long way to go, but I'm out of the sling at home, but must wear it in public in case of bumps and bangs. My Physioterrorist is very enthusiastic so hopefully I'll get some strength back soon.
That's a great idea. I will definitely be using it! I love mushrooms. Can't get enough of them! And I think barbecuing them with rosemary, garlic and olive oil is just delicious.
ReplyDeleteGreat Charlie, they are just so good for you. I think anything with garlic is delicious :)
DeleteAh-Ha! What a brilliant suggestion to use the stems of the rosemary instead of skewers to thread the mushrooms. Now, I'm thinking what else I can use to thread on these babies. And no, I don't think it's too simple of an idea. Sounds absolutely perfect as it is. Like you said, I want to minimise work on veg while maximising flavour, so I can continue to keep an eye on the meats when I'm on the barbie lol! Your posts are always such a joy to read. Sorry for being slightly MIA. I've been back in Msia for the Summer and it's so hectic sometimes! Glad to see you're doing well enough to blog regularly again... YIPPEE!! =D
ReplyDeleteWaste not, want not, Winston! Thanks for such kind words, I hope you're having a great holiday and getting some time to relax as well!
DeleteI just love mushrooms and they are such a perfect food -low fat and full of flavour!
ReplyDeleteAs for the barbecue - I usually let the Husband do that cooking, although he still needs to fine-tune his technique quite significantly. Don't tell him I said that!
It will be our little secret Amanda!
DeleteDelicious! You're right, they dont need much. Theyre prefect as is
ReplyDeleteSometimes less is more indeed!
DeleteAh yes, the simple things in life are often the best! Love the way you can prepare these ahead and take along with you to events too. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteI hate rushing around at the last minute Christie, anything for the quiet life!
DeleteAs a mushroom loving bloke I laughed when I read the comments about making it easy to turn. The funny thing is that you are right. You do need something the deputy tong turner can handle when you step back into the house to see the guests. And mushrooms are healthy and tasty to boot. How good is that...
ReplyDeleteNot good, great! And it sure is much simpler to turn the whole lot at once, especially if the deputy tong turner has a beer in one hand too :)
DeleteI like mushrooms, especially shiitake. (I'm high maintenance with mushrooms.)
ReplyDeleteThat's the loveliest idea to use rosemary twigs as skewers! :D
Mushroom royalty Kath! Don't ever apologise for having good taste!
DeleteOnly lately have I started liking mushrooms, and I have yet to barbeque them - I'll be trying this for sure!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you've given them another chance! Let me know what you think of them this way :)
DeleteWe bbq alot of veggies in our house it is just as important than the meat for my resident Turk so I have none of those issues. ABSOLUTELY love mushrooms.
ReplyDeleteThey certainly need to be on skewers to fit on your little hibachi!
DeleteI love mushrooms and I do a kebab like yours but I add haloumi and eggplant!! YUM!
ReplyDeleteI also enjoy making a Beef Strognoff with out the beef. I substitute the same quantity of green beans and cook it down until they are soft.
Oh I'll so have to give that a try! Fantastic idea, I'm picking heaps of beans from my garden now too :)
DeleteI think you simply cannot beat mushrooms and I especially like that you have used the sprigs of rosemary the way you have.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sherilyn! They taste so yummy too :)
DeleteWe adore mushrooms, and this simple approach is perfect! They're divine on the bbq!
ReplyDeleteThe texture is really nice this way too Celia, meaty instead of slippery! :)
DeleteHow do you stop the skewer burning away?
ReplyDeleteMy favourite mushrooms are large open ones either with bacon and w'shire sauce (Kilpatrick) or with butter and seeded mustard. Grilled on both occasions.
(Another user of the wretched Blogger word verification and reader humiliation step. Why?)
Well Cosmo, the mushrooms cook quite quickly so I found there was no need to worry, and no need to soak them the way I would with bamboo skewers.
DeleteThe Kilpatrick version sounds particularly good, yumm!
The answer to that is to keep away spammers and wankers both, Cosmo :)
MMMMM,..I also adore mushrooms & this is an easy yet well-flavoured rosemary & mushrooms recipe to try! I love BBQing too! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Sophie! I'm all for easy but yummy!
DeleteI always love the look & Flavour of rosemary skewers, but the rose,are I grow in the garden is never LO enough and the stuff in the shops is too bendy. Tis a logistical nightmare!
ReplyDeleteLucas I stole these stems from a friends garden, mine are only tiddlers too! Maybe you could stick just a small sprig in the top of each mushie, but then you would have to turn them one by one if you have the patience :)
DeleteLove mushrooms! We just had a deep fry party, and I deep fried a whole load of mushrooms.. soooo good!
ReplyDeleteDeep Fry Party?!? Can I be your friend and come to your parties.... please!!
DeleteThese look so tasty. I made myself a field mushroom burger on the weekend. Mushrooms on the bbq take on the best smokey flavour. Great combo with the rosemary.
ReplyDelete