One thing I realized when I started shopping directly from producers is how little you need to do to good products – whether we’re talking about a steak or a head of lettuce or a humble mushroom – to make them delicious. I’ve stopped doing anything to steak aside from sprinkling it with salt and cooking it in bacon grease. I don’t do anything with my lettuce except add vinaigrette. And with these Paris mushrooms, I only add two additional ingredients.
And that’s kind of disappointing.
After all, I don’t have some great recipe to offer you. And I could give you one. These mushrooms would be delicious with a bouquet garni of bay and thyme tucked in with them, or doused with a touch of balsamic vinegar, or topped with fermented black garlic or a smattering of raw minced shallots or even a few crumbles of goat cheese.
But when your mushrooms are this good, any of those seasonings – thyme or balsamic or shallots – makes them taste less like mushrooms, in my humble opinion, and more like something else. And when your mushrooms are this good, they don’t need anything else.
Pan-Roasted Paris Mushrooms
1 kilo Paris mushrooms
2 tablespoons duck fat
fleur de sel
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, convection.
Trim and brush the mushrooms as needed.
Heat the duck fat in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, whole, and toss until coated in the fat. Place the entire pan in the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes, tossing once or twice. The mushrooms will release a good deal of juice, so make sure as you check on them that they’re all equally submerged.
Remove the mushrooms from the oven, season with good quality salt, and enjoy.