By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- 4(151)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This is the mushroom base that Scott Samuel, a chef instructor at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa, Calif., uses in conjunction with beef in his burgers. I have cut the amount of olive oil to ¼ cup from ½. Some of America’s biggest food service companies are committed to increasing vegetable consumption, but they don’t want to lose their meat-loving customers, so they are figuring out ways to create dishes with less meat that are still appealing. You may face this challenge in your own family; you want everybody to cut down on meat consumption, but they love their burgers. Mr. Samuel has developed a savory roasted mushroom base that he mixes with hamburger meat for a delicious burger. It looked, smelled, acted and tasted like a burger (well, a very vegetal burger), and it had the added quality of being very moist. Everybody gave it high marks in a taste test, and I made a mental note to make the base at home and use it in burgers, meatballs and more.
Featured in: Cutting Down on the Meat, but Not the Taste
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Ingredients
Yield:1¼ pounds (about 3 cups)
- ¼cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2pounds cremini mushrooms, cut in small dice if large, quartered if small
- Kosher salt to taste
- ¼teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1teaspoon mushroom powder, made by pulverizing dried mushrooms in a spice mill (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
172 calories; 14 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 561 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
Step
2
In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, mushrooms, salt and pepper. Spread in an even layer on the baking sheets.
Step
3
Bake 1 sheet at a time on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender. They will reduce considerably in volume. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Process in a food processor fitted with the steel blade until chopped fine but still retaining some texture. Taste and adjust seasonings. Mix in mushroom powder if desired.
Tip
- Advance preparation: You can keep this on hand in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
Ratings
4
out of 5
151
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Cooking Notes
ET
Recipe wasn't quite clear - after 20 mins baking there was a lot of liquid on the baking sheet. Should this be discarded? I elected to drain the mushrooms in a colander before proceeding.
alisa
Can you freeze this (so can have on hand anytime)?
Bill Ahlstrom
Add garlic (or spring/green garlic) to mushrooms while roasting.
DolceSanDiego
This is brilliant and adds so much flavor to meatballs, meatloaf, or even soup stocks. Mushroom base can be frozen because mushrooms have been roasted and have given up all their water.
Roasting
If you have the option to use convection roasting, it cuts the cooking time down. I found it works well to set timer for 8 minutes, switch pans top to bottom and stir.Set timer for 4 minutes, should be done but you might need another few, all a matter of personal preference.
jkidd
Couldn't you just cook this on the stove? If you need to stir it every 5min, it seems like it would be easier to do there. anyone?
Peggy PM
I have made this and frozen it several times. Very convenient. Stored in a zip lock bag and broke off portions to use in recipes. Works great.
JDot
Freaking delicious and very versatile. Wanted to extend the edible life of some deeply discounted sliced mushrooms. Used recipe with a few changes: roughly chopped the (already sliced) mushrooms before mixing them with the oil and SnP; baked them a little longer than the recipe called for (pulled them out when they didn't look too wet); and stirred only a few times when baking. Rather than make burgers, we ate them on toast and crackers, and mixed frozen leftovers into a fabulous quiche.
Nana Can Cook
We LOVE this recipe! I used Sabatino Tartufi truffle zest seasoning (found at Whole Foods) & used it instead of dried mushrooms - worked great! I've made the mushroom and beef burgers often which are so juicy & flavorful. I froze a few of the cooked ones & they were excellent after reheating. I'm using this base in my meatballs tonight.
lorraine
This base is excellent for burgers, meatloaf, meatballs and works with beef, turkey you can’t go wrong! Makes everything so moist!!!
Luan Do
I made my mushroom base in about 8 minutes today. First, slice mushrooms and put in food processor to chop them up coarsely. Then take a pan and sauté the mushrooms on high heat but don't overcook. Since the chopping of fresh was done in a food processor, it was pretty dry and easy to clean up. The mushroom is not ready for mixing with ground beef for burger.
Luan Do
Correction: I also squeezed the liquid out of the cooked mushroom and save the liquid for other dishes. After squeezing the liquid out, it was ready for mixing with ground beef.
Lauren
Can you use any mushrooms for this?
Roasting
If you have the option to use convection roasting, it cuts the cooking time down. I found it works well to set timer for 8 minutes, switch pans top to bottom and stir.Set timer for 4 minutes, should be done but you might need another few, all a matter of personal preference.
Question - can this be frozen
I could use this is multiple ways. Can I make a bigger batch and freeze?
KJ
Add the optional mushroom powder! It makes the base so much better. Umami 2.0
Candace
We eat a lot of mushrooms - my husband likes a sliced mushroom, onion, Swiss melty sandwich on a toasted baguette. It’s such a lengthy process to precook the mushrooms without them becoming a soggy mess. I briefly sauté them, toss them on tea towels to absorb the excess liquid. Mix mushrooms with fried onions, layer on crusty baguette drizzled with olive oil, sprinkle grated Swiss and toast in the toaster oven.So, does anyone have a hack for quickly sautéed mushrooms without them becoming wet?
jdots
Dry fry (no oil) the mushrooms first - they'll release their liquid in that process. There's an explanation here: https://themodernproper.com/how-to-dry-saute-mushrooms
Gayle Clow
I made this today and will be making the meatballs this afternoon. Anyone have recommendations other than ground beef recipes? I am thinking pizza.
Kellie M.
I used 1 lb turkey and 1 lb of mushrooms to make the mushroom base. So good!!!! It made 4 burgers
DolceSanDiego
This is brilliant and adds so much flavor to meatballs, meatloaf, or even soup stocks. Mushroom base can be frozen because mushrooms have been roasted and have given up all their water.
jkidd
Couldn't you just cook this on the stove? If you need to stir it every 5min, it seems like it would be easier to do there. anyone?
alisa
Can you freeze this (so can have on hand anytime)?
Lilly
This is my question too. Can this be frozen to have on hand? Can anyone answer. i'm concerned it may get too watery when thawed.
Peggy PM
I have made this and frozen it several times. Very convenient. Stored in a zip lock bag and broke off portions to use in recipes. Works great.
ET
Recipe wasn't quite clear - after 20 mins baking there was a lot of liquid on the baking sheet. Should this be discarded? I elected to drain the mushrooms in a colander before proceeding.
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