Here’s the thing – I love to cook.  But as I’ve grown older and (I guess) busier, I’ve truly begun to appreciate the value of my oven and the glory of roasting food.  This method of cooking involves very little active time – you can prep what you need, throw it on a sheet pan with some olive oil, go live your life for 30 minutes to an hour, and come back to a fully cooked and gorgeously caramelized meal.  It’s multitasking at its peak.  It’s the best.

Tonight, I decided to try something new: roasting my mushrooms.  I’ve been fortunate enough to acquire some beautiful chanterelles (Costco, I’m forever thankful!) and oyster mushrooms.  My usual cooking method of choice for mushrooms is sautéing, over high heat, and really sizzling them up to evaporate all of the water in the fungi before achieving a lightly browned exterior.  This method certainly works, and is certainly fun (who doesn’t love a good sizzling pan!), but roasting has truly won over my heart.

Tonight, I switched it up.  After a day in the office, I wanted to get a workout in followed by dinner before it got too late, which meant multitasking was key to success.  I brushed off the chanterelles to clean (no extra water by washing, please) and tore them into large chunks through the stems.  Similarly, I tore the oyster mushrooms into individual chunks (or allowed them to have a couple friends) and added those to my pile.  I doused the pile with a generous amount of olive oil and spread them out into an even layer on my trusty sheet pan.  Next, I tossed the pan into a COLD oven that I then set to 350F.  The oven heated and cooked the mushrooms over the course of my 30 minute workout.

When I came back, those mushrooms were PERFECT.  Golden brown, not remotely soggy, and so full of toasty mushroom flavor. I let them cool on the sheet pan for about 5 minutes, then added to a dinner salad and called it a day.  The salad recipe is below, perfect for a quick and easy weeknight meal:

Roasted Mushroom Salad

For the Dressing:

1 garlic small clove, grated (with a Microplane grater, or chopped finely into a paste)

1 tsp of whole grain mustard

2 tsp of red wine vinegar

1 tbsp of olive oil

A pinch of salt

For the Salad:

Mushrooms, roasted by the description below

1-1½ cups of mixed salad greens

To make the dressing, add all ingredients to a bowl and mix with a fork or small whisk to combine.

Put the lettuce on a large plate and pour dressing over lettuce.  Use clean hands to toss lettuce in with the dressing until the dressing evenly coats the lettuce leaves.  Add cooled roasted mushrooms to the lettuce, toss to combine.

Enjoy!