Funghi con Olio e Aceto

If you’re still on a diet kick (like us), after all of those Valentine’s Day sweets you might be craving some veggies. I know I was, so I returned to The Italian Cookbook for three refreshing pickled vegetable recipes from the Antipasto section.

Funghi con Olio e Aceto/Pickled Mushrooms

1 lbs mushrooms

White vinegar

Hot water

¼ C olive oil

2 tsp salt

2 tsp whole peppercorns

2 cloves garlic, quartered

1 tsp mace

The book says to clean the mushrooms but to leave them whole – the only mushrooms I could find in the grocery store today were sliced, so I’ll just deal with it. I also had no idea what mace was, and I didn’t have any living in my spice cabinet, so I went on an excursion to the spice aisle and discovered a very interesting red powder that is both sweet and spicy – good for savory dishes and some desserts!

Place mushrooms in saucepan and cover with equal amounts of vinegar and hot water. Bring mixture to boiling and cook for 5 minutes. Drain liquid from mushrooms. While mushrooms cool, mix together remaining ingredients, then combine with mushrooms and pack into 1 pint jar.

Cover mushrooms with white vinegar. Close jar and store in refrigerator for at least 2 days. Serve cold.

It seemed like a lot of vinegar to me, and the resulting pickles are a little too sour for my liking (remember, I’m German!), but not so tart that I won’t eat them. I’ve always liked preserving because of how the jars look, and this recipe doesn’t disappoint. However, I should warn you that giving your jar of mushrooms a shake twice a day will help to keep a layer of congealed olive oil from forming on the top of the mixture (I don’t think the olive oil was necessary at all, but hey, Italy). The mushrooms were slightly sweet/spicy because of the mace, which I liked a lot.

Have a question or a request? Put it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond. Fröhe essen!