Mushrooms à la grecque, ‘in the Greek style’, with olive oil and lemon, is a classic ‘traiteurs’ dish, sold in all French delicatessens. This was the type of dish, easily reproduced in the UK, popularised by Elizabeth David’s exploration of Mediterranean food that became a 1970s dinner party favourite. Using olive oil, lemon and white wine vinegar, the mushrooms are lightly pickled, à l’escabèche, and can be served warm or cold, as a starter or as a side.
When I get a punnet of button mushrooms in my organic vegetable box, I’ll often make this dish. It’s so addictive to eat, I’ll end up scoffing the lot by myself, straight from the saucepan. Whole coriander seeds are rather essential, I also add a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme.
For a vegan Christmas dinner, a bowl of mushrooms à la grecque will offset the richness of a nut roast, the fat and fluff of good roast potatoes, the sweetly bitter Brassica notes of Brussels sprouts. I also added a lengthy splash of a minerally Greek wine, Assyrtiko Wild Ferment, Gaia. This is an interesting wine; the grapes are grown not on a vine but coiled in a wind-resistant basket shape on the volcanic ground.
Mushrooms à la Grecque recipe
Ingredients
- 50 ml olive oil
- 400 g whole button mushrooms, any dirt brushed off (if larger, then slice)
- Juice of half a lemon, make sure no pips
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- Splash white wine, optional
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 1 tbsp whole coriander seeds, heaped
- 2 fresh sprigs of thyme
- 1 tsp sea salt
- Ground white pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil gently in a medium saucepan on a medium heat then, add the mushrooms.
- Add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for around ten minutes then serve or leave to cool and serve later.
- Can be kept in the fridge for up to two days.
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