Quickled Pizza Mushrooms

Mushroom pizza lovers, this one is for you! It’s time to switch out your sad, store-bought, canned mushrooms for these savoury, tart, quickled mushrooms! Red wine vinegar, garlic and fennel seeds give this recipe a flavour reminiscent of pepperoni. Whether you add them a meat lover’s or cheese slice, these mushrooms are going to become a go-to condiment in your house.

Ingredients

• ½ cup red wine vinegar
• ½ cup water
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp white sugar
• ¼ tsp fennel seeds
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ lb cremini mushrooms

Preparation

Safety note: Rule number one of pickling is sanitation. Always work on a clean surface using clean equipment, utensils and hands. This will ensure your pickles taste great and remain safe to eat.

Add the vinegar, water, salt, sugar, fennel seeds and garlic to a medium-sized pot, and heat on high for 7 minutes. Meanwhile, rinse the mushrooms to remove dirt, trim the stems and thinly slice them — about 2 mm thick.  

Once 7 minutes have elapsed, add the sliced mushrooms to the vinegar mixture and stir gently for 30 seconds to coat the mushrooms well. Then reduce the heat to medium-high and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring frequently. The mushrooms should look slightly wilted and will have darkened in colour. Remove from the heat and carefully transfer the mushrooms and brine to medium-sized heatproof glass bowl, sealable glass container or canning jar. Let sit for a minimum of 10 minutes, uncovered, at room temperature before serving.

When adding Quickled Mushrooms to another recipe, remove them from their liquid with a fork or small slotted spoon; liquid is needed only for storage. This recipe can be used in place of fried, canned or raw mushrooms and works great on pizza, panini, grilled cheese or pasta dishes.

Store mushrooms with their liquid, in the fridge in a covered glass bowl, sealed canning jar or sealable glass container, for up to 2 weeks.

Yield: Makes approximately 1 cup