Mushrooms a la Grecque

An excellent way of cooking mushrooms in a rich tomato and herb sauce.

Vegan. Hands-on time: 4 mins. Total time: 14 mins.

Contributed by Mike Lewis (July 2011).

This is a quick and easy appetizer or main course accompaniment that only takes a few minutes to prepare. You can serve it on its own, but it's also nice with a green salad or perhaps a piece of crusty white bread.

The quantities given here will makes two to three portions.

Ingredients

• 8 oz (225 g) mushrooms (I use button mushrooms in this recipe, but any fresh, firm mushrooms will do)
• 4 tbsp. water
• 4 tbsp. wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. fresh herbs, such as thyme, basil or rosemary, chopped (or ½ tsp. dried herbs)
• 2 tbsp. tomato purée
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Method

Clean the mushrooms. Cut them into large chunks (this is not necessary if you are using button mushrooms).

Place the mushrooms in a pan, along with all the other ingredients except the lemon juice and parsley. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for about ten minutes.

Remove from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice. Leave to cool.

Serve cold, optionally garnished with the parsley.

Note on quantities and temperatures:
Quantities are given in American (cups), imperial (oz, fl oz) and metric (g, ml) units. Do not mix the units - use one or other system throughout the recipe.
See also How much does a cup weigh?
oz = ounces, fl oz = fluid ounces, g = grams, ml = milliliters, tsp = teaspoons, tbsp = tablespoons.
Oven temperatures are given in degrees F (Fahrenheit) and C (Celsius).
For fan-assisted ovens, reduce the temperature by 20F or 10C.