Food and art, mutually inspired.
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Fine Art Friday

Cheesy Mushroom Toasts

I’ve been baking a lot lately, which is not typically my M.O., but I’m embracing this weekly ritual nonetheless. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s suddenly 40 degrees outside and heating up the oven is the perfect remedy for taking the chill off, or because I have so much sourdough starter that it’s essentially become the fourth member in our household, or that I’m completely enthralled in the latest season of Great British Bake Off and want to bake all the things.

Regardless of what led me on my recent baking journey, it brought me to this stunner of a cheesy mushroom toast. Plus, the mushrooms are plentiful in the PNW right now (hellooooo chanterelles, I’m looking at you!), and it would be a waste to not use them at any opportunity.

My cheesy mushroom toasts are the perfect remedy to those nights you just don’t feel like cooking (It’s essentially a one pan meal!) and a wonderful dish to add into your Meatless Monday rotation. Crispy, garlic rubbed, sourdough bread topped with thyme roasted mushrooms, and gooey sharp white cheddar cheese. And did I mention that this is ready in UNDER 30 MINUTES? I mean, it basically cooks itself. So simple, so easy, SO DELICIOUS. It really is just the thing.

Omphalotus nidiformis (Ghost Fungus)

Omphalotus nidiformis (Ghost Fungus)

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Cheesy Mushroom Toasts

Cheesy Mushroom Toasts

Cheesy Mushroom Toasts

Ingredients:

8 oz shiitake mushrooms, woody stems removed

5 oz oyster mushrooms, torn into medium sized pieces

2 Tbsp avocado oil

1/2 tsp kosher salt

8 sprigs thyme

4 slices sourdough bread

1 garlic clove

2 C sharp white cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place mushrooms on a large baking sheet and toss with avocado oil, salt, and thyme sprigs. Bake mushrooms for 10-15 minutes, stirring halfway through. The mushrooms will be browned and just starting to crisp around the edges.

Toast the sourdough bread. Once toasted, rub one side of the toast with a clove of garlic. Top each toast with a little cheese, a heaping pile of mushrooms, and then top with more cheese. Bake in the oven for 3-5 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

*Note: Feel free to use any variety of mushrooms you like. I’ve used shiitake and oyster mushrooms, but cremini, portobello, or chanterelles would be perfect here.

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