Braised Shallots and Crimini Mushrooms

While we're out here in San Diego during the winter, we have the added pleasures of visiting many farmers markets. I think there are around 15 weekly markets in the San Diego area. So far, we've been to four: Mission Valley, Point Loma, Ocean Beach and of course, my favorite, the Little Italy Mercato.

Each had vendors offering beautiful local produce (some certified organic, some spray free, etc.), flowers, prepared breads, entrees and treats (oh, the desserts are drool-worthy), as well as products of local artisans. For me, all markets are a feast for my eyes. I instantly start imaging what I could do with this and that--then I remember I am in my temporary winter home, with little more than a frying pan, small glass casserole dish and soup pot to work with. Ugh. All this produce and so few ways I can prepare it in this limited kitchen.

During my most recent market trip, to Ocean Beach (on Wednesdays, 4-7 p.m.), I spotted these big beautiful shallots and recalled a recipe I read about carmalized whole shallots, something I had never considered before that sounded quite delicious. I also saw some nice crimini mushrooms and thought the two would make a nice side dish to the stuffed chicken I had planned for the following night. Since I rarely follow a recipe word for word, I did my own spin on it, as follows:

Braised Shallots and Crimini Mushrooms

12 whole shallots, peeled with roots left intact
12 whole crimini mushrooms, wiped clean with dry cloth (do not wash mushrooms)
5 tablespoons of butter (I used salted)
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 cups of white wine (I used pinot grigio)
1 teaspoon of dried thyme leaves (or a fresh sprig or two would be nice)
Salt and Pepper


Preheat oven to 400 degrees

In medium sauce pan over medium low heat, melt butter. Once melted, add thyme, sugar and whole shallots. Stir gently to coat and let cook about 8-10 minutes, stirring just occassionally. Transfer to casserole dish, top with mushrooms, wine, salt and pepper. Pop into oven, uncovered, and cook for about 30-40 minutes. You can cook it for longer, but the shallots will break down much more.

Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon to leave most of the (fattening) juices behind, then just drizzle a bit of this flavorful goodness over whatever else you are serving, such as stuffed chicken breast and roasted red potatoes, as I did. I also reserved the leftover sauce in a container in the fridge to possible use later in the week as a sauce compliment, or to drizzle over bread when making crostini.

Leftover shallots and mushrooms would be terrific over mashed potatoes (made with that leftover buttery wine & thyme sauce) or make great pizza toppings!

The recipe that inspired this used a bit of red wine vinegar instead of so much white wine, for a tangier taste and more caramelization versus braising. That might be worth a try another time.

Sidenote: Peeling shallots is a pain in the ass, I know. If you peel off more than just the skin layer, I suggest saving the remnants (skin and all) in a bowl in the fridge to use when making your next pot of stock. I try to save all my vegetable ends and skins for this purpose. I think it adds a tremendous amount of flavor, and I'm sure a variety of good nutrients seep into the stock during a slow simmer. If anything looks too rotten in your stock bowl when it comes time to add to the pot, just discard. At least you tried to use it all up. In my case, I try to make a stock (usually with chicken bones) about once a week to use for on-the-fly soups and anything else that needs a boost of flavor.