The distinctive flavor of a champignon mushroom comes from its water-soluble proteins called albumins, which means these mushrooms can quickly lose their taste, easily transferring it to other ingredients. Champignons are an ideal component for sauces, various broths, and side dishes.
The most common methods of preparing champignons are canning and frying. For canning, any marinade will do—oil, lemon zest, or plain vinegar. If you’re making a fish dish, use lemon zest and dill for the mushrooms. For meat dishes, season them with oregano, thyme, or marjoram. In recipes where you want to preserve or even highlight the natural flavor of the mushrooms, subject them to minimal processing or leave them raw. For example, finely chopped champignons can be added to a salad of olives and spinach. When it comes to dressings, keep in mind that cream, mayonnaise, and other dairy products can overpower the flavor of the mushrooms, so avoid them if you want to emphasize their natural taste.
Champignons also bake beautifully with various dishes—both meat and fish. And they can be stuffed as well. Here’s a simple recipe for stuffed champignons.
**Ingredients:**
– Long-grain rice – 50g (about 1.75 oz)
– Onion – 1
– Champignons – 600g (about 1.3 lbs)
– Vegetable oil
– Salt, pepper
Cook the rice in salted water. Remove the stems from the champignons and place the caps, hollow side up, on a greased baking sheet. Finely chop the onion and sauté it. Then add the chopped mushroom stems and fry until golden brown. After that, stir in the rice, season with salt and pepper, and mix well. Stuff the mushroom caps tightly with this mixture and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. Before finishing, you can sprinkle grated cheese on top and return them to the oven for another 5-10 minutes.