SMALL PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat the grill. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, toss the garlic cloves with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and some salt. Wrap the garlic cloves in tinfoil and place on the tray in the center of the oven. Cook until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 20 to 25 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the balsamic with 3/4 cup of the olive oil and the mustard.
• In a medium bowl, toss the mushrooms in the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt. Place them, stem-side up, on the hottest part of the grill. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, you may see liquid starting to emerge from the stem area. Flip to the other side and cook for an additional 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer them to a tray and place in the center of the oven. Cook until they are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, an additional 12 to 15 minutes. Season them lightly with salt.
• Remove the garlic from the oven. Squeeze the garlic pulp out from their skins and whisk it vigorously into the dressing. Arrange the mushrooms on a serving platter and top with the dressing. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Trim hard parts from mushrooms and discard. Rinse mushrooms quickly to remove grit; cut caps into slices and stems into small chunks. Combine in a medium skillet with 1 clove garlic (crushed and peeled), thyme, olive oil and some salt and pepper. Cook over sufficiently low heat so that mixture bubbles but mushrooms do not brown. Continue to cook, stirring infrequently, until they are quite shrunken in size and appear firm, 30 to 45 minutes. (At this point, you can pause for several hours before resuming cooking.) If you are using porcinis, soak them in hot water to cover for a few minutes so that they soften.
• Set a large pot of water to boil for pasta and salt it. Mince remaining garlic. Turn heat under oil to medium, and add garlic to the portobellos along with the drained porcinis. Cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic begins to color. Add tomatoes and raise heat to medium high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they break up and become saucy, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta until it is tender but not mushy. Taste sauce and adjust its seasoning. When pasta is done, drain it, toss with sauce, top with Parmesan, and serve.