Preserved Mushrooms

Photo by Michael Piazza

The convenience of having perfectly cooked mushrooms at a moment’s notice can’t be beat. You can add mushroomy richness to any dish, pasta, main course… Make morning mushroom toasts, add to grain salads—the possibilities are endless. When your container of perfectly cooked preserved mushrooms is staring at you in the fridge, you’ll be surprised how often you use them in your everyday cooking, even for nibbling!

Makes 1 container

2 cups raw mushrooms, either supermarket button mushrooms or exotics/wild local mushrooms, loosely torn into pieces
3 cups extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Place mushrooms, olive oil and salt in a cold medium-sized pot. Turn on the heat to medium-high until you start to see bubbles form at the top of the oil and then reduce the heat to low and leave for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

To preserve mushrooms, store them completely submerged in oil in an airtight container in the fridge, for up to 1 year.

When ready to use, bring the container with mushrooms and oil up to room temperature. Before using, strain the mushrooms from the olive oil using a slotted spoon and blot with a paper towel to remove excess oil. Serve at room temperature or crisp in a frying pan to heat up.

This recipe appeared in the Winter 2021 issue as part of a larger story on Preserving, Italian-Style.