From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

This recipe came from a client who said that her family devoured it. I altered proportions to my taste and added garlic and bay leaf as well as coming up with other options.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup (2 fl oz, 60 ml) red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil
• 1/3 cup (80ml) water
• 1 tsp. (5 ml) Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) light/soft brown sugar
• ¼ cup (60 ml) freshly chopped parsley
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper or 8 peppercorns
• 3 bay leaves
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 medium onion, peeled, halved, thinly sliced and separated into rings.
• 1 lb. (500 g) whole baby mushrooms, cleaned

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except mushrooms in a stainless steel or non-stick saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

2. Add mushrooms, bring back to boil and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. 

3. Remove from heat, pour into glass or similar non-reactive dish, cover and chill.

4. Marinate for at least 4 hours.

Tips and Alternatives:

These mushrooms are best served at room temperature. They are a wonderful part of an antipasto platter or side dish with grilled meat. I also substitute 1 lb. thawed pearl onions for mushrooms and cook for about one hour to make an addictive onion relish/chutney. It goes great on gluten-free French bread with cheese.

If the mushrooms are too vinegary for you, then reduce the vinegar by 1 Tbsp. next time, or add some more sugar to blend until it dissolves.

Try adding some of these ingredients:

• Add rosemary and/or thyme for different additional flavor.
• Add cooked shrimp or mozzarella balls to cooled dish.
• Add cubes of roast beef and quartered artichokes to cooled dish.