Vegan Sautéed Woodland Mushrooms, with garlic!

These Vegan Sautéed Woodland Mushrooms, with garlic and sprinkled with tasty sea salt are a delight to accompany any meal.  Or simply have them on toast!

PLEASE NOTE – when I refer to Woodland Mushrooms, I buy them, I do not forage for them. Although there are lots of wonderful, edible mushrooms growing wild, there are equally, lots of very dangerous, and even deadly, mushrooms and I do not know enough about wild mushrooms to risk foraging for them myself.

When making this dish I use a pre-mixed and sliced selection of mushrooms that contain mushrooms such as Oyster, Shiitake, and King Oyster mushrooms, which are available in supermarkets.  But any mix of specialty mushrooms will work in this recipe. The key is to cook them quickly (sauté) over a high heat.

Also, many sautéed mushroom recipes will call for butter, rather than oil, but I use oil because it brings back wonderful memories of the Greek island of Corfu, where I first had Oyster mushrooms sautéed with garlic and sprinkled with sea salt.

By finely slicing the garlic, it cooks quickly with the mushrooms. I have a wonderful gadget – Pampered Chef Garlic Slicer, that is so handy when I want finely sliced garlic.

Finely sliced garlic is great for salads too!

Mushrooms

Mushrooms are known to have quite a chewy texture and this is certainly the case with the big Oyster mushrooms. So they add quite a lot of depth when added to a dish or as a side dish to a main meal.

Whilst looking at the health benefits and nutrients of mushrooms, and there are many of them, I came across an article written by Angela Nelson. She has written some really interesting articles but the one that caught my eye was about mushrooms – 7 Surprising Health Benefits of Mushrooms.

Ok, you might say; there are lots of articles about mushrooms and their health benefits. However, this article, at number 4. states that criminis contain B12. If this is the case, then it will make a vast difference to the options available to vegans and vegetarians. The article was updated in January 2020 and I am curious as to why this is not common knowledge.

So, if you have come across any articles that back what Angela Nelson has written, please leave a link in the comments box below. I would love to read more on this and whether criminis could be the future of a sufficient B12 intake without the need for fortified foods.

How To Make Vegan Sautéed Woodland Mushrooms

Equipment you will need

Kitchen scales

sharp knife or garlic slicer

Measuring spoons

Wok or large saucepan

Spatula or similar

Step 1 – Heat the oil in a wok, or large pan, over a high heat.

It’s important to gain a high heat in the wok before you add the ingredients. The mushrooms need to cook quickly and this will only be achieved if the heat source is already there.

So, when choosing your oil (I use rapeseed oil), you need to make sure it is good for cooking at a very high heat. Olive oil is not the best for this. I have written more about oil and the ‘smoke point’ in my recipe for Padrón Peppers.

Step 2 – Add the garlic, quickly stir into the oil and add the mushrooms.

Step 3 – Sauté over a high heat for 2-3 minutes. There are so many cooking terms for simply cooking something in a bit of oil, but Sauté means to cook quickly, at a relatively high heat in a relatively little oil, and in a shallow pan. However, 200g / 7oz mushrooms have quite a large capacity (albeit they do shrink down) so a wok is ideal for this.

Step 4 – Transfer to a warmed serving dish, sprinkle over the sea salt and serve as a side to many dishes such as my warm winter potato salad.

Don’t forget to leave a comment in the comments box when you make this dish ????

Happy mushroom Sautéing and ENJOY! ????