Recipe for marinated champignons: "Quick and easy!"

In the fall, I love mushroom picking. It's like that joke: "I can't decide what I like more—picking mushrooms or just slowly walking through the forest with a knife in my hand."

You can boil, fry, or dry the mushrooms you've picked (and then use them for soups). A friend of mine loves making mushroom pâté… it's delicious, but I haven't made it myself yet, even though I got the recipe.

I prefer to marinate the young mushrooms, fry the rest with potatoes—yum!—and freeze them for later. When I'm unlucky and haven't picked many, I make soup with them and save some for julienne (chicken fillet with mushrooms, baked in a sour cream sauce under a cheese crust). But today I'd like to share with you a tried-and-true recipe for marinated mushrooms that are ready to eat the next day.

You don't have to go mushroom picking to enjoy such a delicious treat. My colleagues often ask me to bring "my signature mushrooms" to their next holiday table, so I also marinate store-bought champignons.

It's better to take small mushrooms, as many of them will fit in the jar and they look more presentable.

Recipe for marinated champignons

I will describe all the actions step by step:

1. Clean the mushrooms. A friend's son once came back from abroad, where he worked as a cook's assistant at a good restaurant, and told me a life hack for quickly washing small mushrooms. I followed his advice and was pleased with the results.

So, take the mushrooms, place them in a deep bowl, sprinkle flour on top (it acts as a natural cleaning agent), then pour water over the mushrooms (you can fill the bowl to the brim and vigorously stir them with your hand, or you can add a little water and rub the mushrooms with damp flour, thus removing any dirt from their surface). Then rinse the mushrooms under running water, and voila! The mushrooms are clean.

Washing or peeling such small mushrooms individually, even in such large quantities, is quite expensive. I find the described method the most time- and labor-efficient, and a handful of flour costs pennies. Large (mature, open, or old) dirty mushrooms are best peeled with a knife, removing the thin skin from the surface. Washing them is not recommended due to their highly porous flesh, which absorbs water like a sponge. Clean-looking mushrooms can be quickly rinsed under running water or wiped with a paper towel or brushed.

2. Prepare the marinade. For 1 kg of champignons we take:

• 100 ml of water;
• 100 ml of sunflower oil (you can use less if you want, for example, 80 ml, or decide for yourself how much you think is necessary);
• 4 tbsp. vinegar 9% (you can use 2-3 tbsp. or less, but it's up to you... some put only 1-2 tbsp. vinegar, some use apple cider vinegar instead of table vinegar (the same 3-4 tbsp.), some replace vinegar with fresh lemon juice... I follow the recipe strictly because I like the taste of this particular marinade, and I use regular table vinegar because you can't check the quality of store-bought apple cider vinegar, and I don't have any desire to make it myself yet);
• 2 teaspoons of sugar (you can add less if you like, for example, 1 teaspoon, and some people don’t add any sugar at all... it’s a matter of taste);
• 2 tsp salt (I’ve seen a version with soy sauce, but I haven’t cooked it that way);
• 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced ​​(you can leave it out if you don’t like it);
• 13-15 black peppercorns;
• 4 bay leaves (or 2-3, as you prefer).

If you like cloves, you can add them to taste (I don't, so I don't, and the original recipe didn't call for them). I added Dijon mustard. My friends added onion rings and grated carrots, and they were also delicious. They said they'd add a little more hot pepper next time.

3. Pour the marinade over the mushrooms and place on the stove. Simmer for 5-7 minutes after boiling (maximum 10-15 minutes if you're worried about not cooking enough). The mushrooms will release their juices, and the liquid will increase.

4. Pour the mushrooms into jars and seal with lids. Let the jars cool slightly and refrigerate. They're ready to eat the next day, and some people start spooning them in and eating them while still warm after just a couple of hours.

And here is what I prepared from what I collected. field champignons:

In the latter case, there were both small and large mushrooms, so I chopped them up. Because the caps already had dark gills (the mushrooms were older, not just baby ones), the brine turned out less clear and darker, but this didn't affect the taste.

They say that even wilted mushrooms darken when cooked, especially if the recipe is altered and less vinegar is used. Therefore, if you're unsure whether the mushrooms were fresh, it's recommended to first boil them for 5 minutes in water with citric acid (2 teaspoons of citric acid per 1 kg of mushrooms). The marinade itself is cooked separately. Then, the "lemon water" is drained, and the mushrooms are covered with the hot marinade and cooked for another 5-7 minutes.

I use regular lids, without rolling them up, since this recipe is for preparing the mushrooms for the upcoming feast. I haven't tried sealing them for the winter using this recipe, so I can't recommend it for long-term storage. That's the whole recipe. Quick and easy!

Who is not recommended to eat pickled mushrooms?

• People with complaints or diagnosed diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and kidneys, as well as those suffering from systemic diseases. Those with health problems should always strictly adhere to a therapeutic diet, without exception (and the black list includes not only mushrooms and pickles, but also salted, smoked, fried, fatty, flour-based foods, as well as certain vegetables and fruits, for example, those with a high glycemic index, etc.).
• Pregnant women and children under 12 years of age. Children under 2 years of age should not be given mushrooms at all, as they are difficult to digest. From 2 to 5 years old, store-bought champignons can be boiled and given in small quantities, or made into pâté or sauce, for example (but no more than 1-2 times a month!). From 7 to 12 years old, wild mushrooms (meaning not commercially grown) can be eaten, but only boiled. From 12 years old, any edible mushrooms can be eaten (not only boiled, but also pickled and fried), says practicing therapist E. Kiseleva (Voronezh).

Do not neglect these warnings!