Roasted Mushroom Potato Salad

Many mushrooms are pretty, like the one in the above photo. But, beware of eating just any old mushroom you may find in the woods. Generally, the prettier the mushroom, the more chance of it being poisonous. This is why I opt to buy my mushrooms at the store. However, if you are the foraging type, take care and know which mushrooms are edible before popping it in your mouth.

I have always loved mushrooms, even as a child. My favourite soup was condensed Mushroom soup. Hey, I was a kid and my palate was not overly refined - yet. Among my favourites when I was a child were liver and onions and I did like blue cheese on toast. I would still be eating blue cheese if I could find any that was gluten-free. This recipe contains three of my favourite things - onions, potatoes, and mushrooms.

Roasted Mushroom and Potato Salad

Ingredients

10.5 ounces mushrooms - I would not use canned mushrooms for this recipe. Due to the water content, canned mushrooms do not roast well and tend to look dried out instead of staying plump. I used what I had on hand which was a combination of button mushroom and chopped up portabellos

Oil - This is used to coat the mushrooms and potatoes prior to roasting

1 pound of potatoes, diced into 1 inch cubes - I would not use white potatoes for this recipe. Opt for a red skinned potato instead. White potatoes tend to be dry and mealy. Red skinned potatoes have higher water content and so do not dry out.

1/4c fresh parsley - This is purely for aesthetics and adds a splash of colour in an otherwise blandly coloured dish. You can use fresh or dried if that is all you have on hand. Or omit it entirely if you do not like parsley and switch it out for Basil if desired.

2-3T of sherry - The original recipe called for vinegar but I did not have any but I always have sherry on hand. And I find that vinegar has a very tart aftertaste which I do not like much.

2T capers, rinsed - The recipe said this was optional. But, I like them and happened had them on hand. If you have never had capers, you really should try them.

Coarse salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Start by preheating your oven to 450C. Make sure to put your oven racks in the middle of your oven BEFORE preheating. Ouch!

If your oven is large enough, you can put the two baking sheets required for this recipe in the oven side by side. My oven was not large enough and I ended up having to move the racks around which is really hard to do with oven mitts on.

Toss the potatoes with oil to coat and season with salt and pepper. Put the potatoes evenly on a baking sheet. Place the Baking sheet in the oven and set a timer for 20 minutes.

Toss the mushroom with oil to coat and season with salt and pepper. Put on the second baking sheet. When the timer goes off put the second baking sheet in the oven and set the timer for 20 minutes.

When the timer goes off, the mushrooms should be browned and the potatoes cooked through. The mushrooms do not require as much cooking time at the potatoes and if the mushrooms are a little undercooked it is not as bad as undercooked potatoes.

When the timer goes off, remove both sheets from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. In a bowl large enough for the mushrooms and potatoes, mix the parsley, sherry and capers.

When the potatoes have cooled enough to be handled, toss all together before serving.

You will never go back to regular potato salad once you try this warm version.