Serves Serves 4

Notes

Pickling can seem intimidating, but a quick refrigerator pickle like this is a good starting point. These mushrooms keep for a few days in the refrigerator. If you want to keep them longer, make sure to top them off with enough oil and vinegar to cover them completely. The oil will float to the top and seal out air. They’ll keep a couple of weeks like this. The mushrooms are delicious on their own, or tossed in a salad or on a sandwich. They’re also a delicious addition to an antipasti spread or salumi platter.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound firm white button mushrooms
  • ¾ cup white wine vinegar
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
  • 2 fresh bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons black peppercorns
  • 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
  • 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon peperoncino (depending on how spicy you want the mushrooms to be)
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Directions

Clean any dirt from the mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Quarter or halve any mushrooms larger than button size.

Combine the vinegar, 1 cup water, the garlic, bay leaves, salt, sugar, peppercorns, fennel seeds, mustard seeds and peperoncino in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer to dissolve the sugar and salt. Add the mushrooms and simmer 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.

When cool, transfer the mushrooms to a clean glass jar or ceramic crock. Ladle off any excess liquid (leaving the spices), so the mushrooms are covered by about ½ inch. Add the olive oil. Cover the jar and shake to combine. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

To serve, drain the mushrooms from the pickling liquid. Toss in a serving bowl with the parsley and a drizzle of olive oil.