Monday, April 12, 2010

Georgian recipes: creamy mushrooms with spices and herbs

Georgian mushrooms / Koores ja vürtsidega hautatud seened Gruusia moodi

Another Georgian recipe on Nami-Nami. When I gave couple of Georgian cookery classes back in March, I had chosen 15 carefully selected recipes for the class. Little did I know that this humble and simple mushroom dish would prove to be such a great favourite with the participants. The mushrooms are slowly cooked in cream, alongside with some spices you wouldn't usually associate with mushroom dishes - cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon. Just before serving, some finely chopped fresh herbs are added, which lift the whole dish nicely (a bit like gremolata on osso buco, you know :))

Serve as a side dish or on a buffet spread. For best results, choose large mushrooms or use whole button mushrooms.

Creamy mushrooms with spices and herbs
(Vürtsidega hautatud šampinjonid)
serves 4

500 g mushrooms
1 Tbsp butter
0.5 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
200 ml whipping cream/double cream
6 whole black peppercorns
3 cloves
2 bay leaves
small cinnamon stick
large handful of fresh dill, finely chopped
large handful on fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

First, prepare the mushrooms. If they're very dirty, then rinse them quickly and dry thoroughly. Otherwise just wipe them clean with a wet kitchen paper. Cut mushrooms in halve or into thick slices.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the mushrooms. Season generously with salt and pepper, then sauté for a few minutes, until the mushrooms take on some colour.
Meanwhile, place the spices and bay leaves on a piece of muslin or cheesecloth:
Georgian mushrooms / Koores ja vürtsidega hautatud seened Gruusia moodi

Tie them up with a cotton string:
Georgian mushrooms / Koores ja vürtsidega hautatud seened Gruusia moodi

Place the "spice pouch" into the saucepan and push it snugly between the mushrooms. Pour of the cream. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer on low heat for about 40-45 minutes, until the cream has reduced considerably.

Remove the "spice pouch", stir in the chopped herbs and serve.

Mushrooms with herbs, Georgian style / Seened ürdikastmes, Gruusia stiilis

6 comments:

Anne said...

This sounds really lovely, I'm sure P will love it. He's a big mushroom fan. :)

Brett Sutcliffe said...

Mushroom always my favorite. Luckily I got all these herbs at home as well. I will try it cuz even the soup color is so beautiful.

Marisa said...

This looks very decadent!

Manggy said...

I can just imagine that these would be fantastic with a variety of wild mushrooms too! Pass the bread! :)

Claudia said...

I've recently gotten two cookbooks with Georgian recipes and have tried a few. This sounds wonderful, something I'd like to try with our little wild mushrooms.

Pille said...

Anne - I'm sure Per would appreciate you making these :)

Brett - give it a go!

Marissa - it was lovely!

Manggy - you know what, I'm not even sure wild mushrooms would be better in this dish - their delicate flavours might be overwhelmed by the use of spices and herbs. But it's certainly a great way to dress up the boring old cultivated ones!

Claudia - hope to see some Georgian recipes on your blog then, soon!!!