Mushrooms with pesto toasties

November 19, 2009 • Hello. I am currently out of the country and unable to respond to comments and e-mails. Rest assured, however, that future posts have been scheduled so new recipes will go live almost everyday during my absence. I'll be back soon with lots of stories and photos. Ciao for now! ~ Connie

Two recipes in one post. And a story to boot.

On the last day of Alex’s final exams, she wanted pasta. Because she adores pasta with pesto, I decided that was what I’d prepare for her. Pasta with pesto sauce with butter-sauteed fresh mushrooms thrown in. I had already prepared the pesto (I never use anything but homemade pesto these days) and I was already sauteing the mushrooms in butter when Alex commented that she thought I would be making spaghetti with tomato sauce.

I paused for a moment, weighing the too-much-pampering angle with the desire to do something special for her because she had just been through the gauntlet called final exams. The desire to do something special won.

Now, that turned out to be a good thing because what I did with the pesto and mushrooms proved to be out-of-this-world good. And now, I have these two recipes. Both are good as starters.

Butter sauteed mushrooms with pesto

200 g. of fresh mushrooms (I used button mushrooms), sliced
2 tbsps. of butter
salt
2 tbsps. to 1/4 c. of pesto (preferably homemade), depending on whether you like your mushrooms swimming in pesto

Heat the butter in a pan. Add the sliced mushrooms. Cook over high heat for about three minutes. Mushrooms cook fast, please don’t overcook them. Sprinkle with a little salt. Stir in the pesto. It’s done.

I placed the platter on the kitchen counter and we were eating the mushrooms off the platter while waiting for the spaghetti to cook when I realized what else I could do with the mushrooms with pesto. And it was at that point that I realized too that I really would like to post the recipes in my blog. So, before collecting the ingredients for the second dish that I intended to make with the mushrooms, I ran upstairs to get the camera to take a photo of the mushrooms with pesto on the platter before they started to look too disheveled for food photography.

So, now, we come to that second idea.

Mushrooms with pesto toasties

First, you have to have made the mushrooms and pesto dish. Additionally, you’ll need split buns (I used whole wheat pan de sal) and slices of your favorite cheese.

Pile on some of the mushrooms with pesto on the split buns. I recommend that you toast the buns after splitting but before adding the mushrooms. I didn’t, that was my mistake, but then I was too excited to execute the idea that had entered my head in one of those unexpected moments of inspiration.

If the mushrooms look like they aren’t coated with enough pesto, spoon some pesto over them. You can even brush the split sides of the buns with a little pesto before piling on the mushrooms.

Top the mushrooms with cheese. Grated or sliced, both will work. I used sliced because we were experimenting with a new cheese grater. I’ll show you later.

Toast the bread in a preheated oven for about a minute or two or just until the cheese melts. About 450^oF. If you’re using a turbo broiler, there’s no need to preheat.

And you have these delicious toasties which, based on the result, is something I won’t be shy to serve for a birthday party or for the many family gatherings that usually accompany the Christmas season that lasts until after the New Year.

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