My favorite meals are the ones that come together in a flash without compromise. Our secret? Jars of homemade condiments. This savory paste will last you a while (we freeze some in tiny mason jars) and makes a delicious pasta sauce when thinned out with olive oil and a touch of freshly grated parmesan, but we love it just as much spread on a nice slab of warm bread as over top a thick cut of steak or burger.
Ingredients
1-1/2cupsToasted hazelnuts
2lbsWild mushroomsdo your best here- a variety is fine!
4ouncesButter
2TbspOlive oil
4Shallots
4clovesGarlic
2TbspDry white wine
2TbspSherry vinegar
2tspAged balsamic vinegar
Saltto taste
Instructions
Finely mince the garlic and shallots. Cube the mushrooms into about 2" pieced. Take out your largest pan (we use our large cast iron skillet); you'll be working in two batches to cook down your mushrooms.
Place your pan over medium heat and put in half of your butter and olive oil. Add all the garlic and half of the shallots and sweat for 1 minute. Add half of your mushrooms and cook these until the pan is dry and the mushrooms get a good amount of color. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and sherry vinegar, stirring until the pan is dry once again. Remove the mushrooms from the pan.
Add the remaining butter, olive oil and shallot to the pan, followed by the rest of the mushrooms. Get these to a nice brown color as well, only this time deglaze the pan with the balsamic vinegar. Turn the heat off once the vinegar has evaporated.
Place the hazelnuts in a food processor and begin running it until they become pasty. Add the mushrooms and continue with the processor until an even paste forms. Taste, season with salt and, if desired, a touch of lemon juice.
Store in the fridge for up to two weeks or freeze for several months.
Notes
This savory paste will last you a while (we freeze some in tiny mason jars) and makes a delicious pasta sauce when thinned out with olive oil and a touch of freshly grated parmesan, but we love it just as much spread on a nice slab of warm bread as over top a thick cut of steak or burger. Whatever you choose, know that the 35 minutes you took out of your Saturday to make this instantly elevated dinner. This recipe makes a really big batch- about 3 cups worth of the paste. You can cut the amounts in half easily!