Sliced Mushroom Relish With Bacon and Chives
These condiment side dishes quickly and creatively dress up casual meals. They’re great with cold cuts and grilled meat, poultry and fish. The serving is easy--just spoon them right onto your dinner plate.
The dishes draw on the seasonal market and produce bin, and that’s what makes them so inviting. Be sure to choose ingredients of top quality. Explore your farmers market or produce aisle for the best of the season.
Take any of these to a summer potluck. The mushroom condiment dish is especially suited to grilled steaks and hamburgers. The carrot and beet slaw is a salad that I made long ago with James Beard; it’s crunchy, refreshing and tasty. No cooking required, as beets are delicious raw. And for the vegetable relish, an array of cut-up vegetables--cucumber, tomatoes and radishes, tossed with a piquant dressing and fresh basil--can hold its own beside any summer salad.
Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 4 minutes. Transfer to paper towels and blot dry. When cool enough to handle, crumble into small pieces. You’ll have about 1/3 cup; set aside. Drain the fat from the pan.
Add the olive oil and garlic to the pan. Cook until the cloves sizzle but do not brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Let cool 5 minutes. Use tongs to remove the garlic and discard.
Stir the lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste into the oil. Place the mushrooms in a large bowl. Pour the oil mixture over the mushrooms; use your hands to gently toss slices until well mixed. Toss in the chives. Let rest at least 1/2 hour before serving or refrigerate up to 4 hours.
To serve, gently toss in the reserved bacon. Taste; adjust seasoning. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Get our Cooking newsletter.
Your roundup of inspiring recipes and kitchen tricks.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
