New Zealand mushroom recipes
Creamy Garlic Oyster Mushroom Sauce
Brown oyster mushrooms in butter, add garlic and herbs, then let cream reduce around them. The flexible measurements make this an easy sauce to adjust to the mushrooms you have.
FlavourGarlic, herbs and browned mushrooms.
Key stepLet each side of the mushrooms brown before adding the cream.
MeasurementsFlexible, with 200 ml cream as the starting point.
Ingredients
- 1–3 heaped tablespoons butter, depending on how rich you want the sauce
- A dinner plate full of oyster mushrooms, torn into bite-sized pieces or left a little larger
- 4–5 garlic cloves, chopped or crushed
- A few light sprinkles of dried thyme, oregano, basil or rosemary; use a little more if the herbs are fresh
- 200 ml cream
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Method
- Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat.
- Add the oyster mushrooms. Cook them for a few minutes, giving each side enough time in contact with the pan to turn golden brown.
- Once browned, add the garlic, herbs and a little salt and pepper. Stir until the garlic is fragrant.
- Pour in the cream. Let it bubble gently until it thickens into a sauce, stirring as needed.
- Taste, adjust the seasoning and serve warm.
Cooking notes
The mushrooms will release moisture as they cook. Browning them before adding cream gives the sauce a deeper flavour and keeps the mushrooms from being simply steamed in it. If the pan is crowded, cook the mushrooms in batches.
About the mushroom name: “Oyster mushroom” covers several Pleurotus species. This recipe works with a confidently identified edible oyster mushroom; the dish photograph does not establish which species was used. Check the identity of any wild collection independently before eating it.