Champignons à la Grecque – Greek style mushrooms

Champignons à la Grecque, or Greek style mushrooms is a delicious side dish that can be served warm with a menu. But is it best known as a cold spread on a toast. I made it the first time for the Sylvester menu. But I was so happy with the result that I made it again last week to share it with my readers.

You can buy it as a prepared spread at the local butcher or supermarket. But of course it is so much better when you make it yourself. And it is not difficult at all!

Champignons à la Grecque – Greek style mushrooms

Champignons à la Grecque, or Greek style mushrooms are well known as a cold spread on a toast or baguette. But you can also serve it warm as a side dish.

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 40 mins

Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Belgian, European, French, Greek

Ingredients

  

Tomato sauce

• 500 gram tomatoes very ripe, roughly chopped
• 1 shallot
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• pepper
• salt

Champignos à la Grecque – Greek style mushrooms

• 250 gram mushrooms
• 2 onions cut into rings
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 100 ml white wine
• 10 seeds coriander
• 3 leaves bay
• thyme dried

Instructions

 

Tomato sauce

• cut the shallot fine and bake it in the olive oil until tender.
• Add the roughly cut tomatoes, the garlic and the sugar.
• Put the lid on the pot, and let it simmer for 15 minutes until the tomatoes are tender.
• Sieve the mixture so that you have a clear tomato sauce. This should be app. 300 ml.

Champignons à la Grecque – Greek style mushrooms

• Slice the mushrooms, crush the coriander seeds in a mortar and cut the onions into rings.
• Bake the onion in the olive oil and add the crushed coriander seeds. Let this simmer for about 5 minutes.
• Add the lemon juice and mix it with the onion rings.
• After a few minutes deglaze everything with white wine, and let reduce on high heat for a few minutes.
• Add mushrooms, bay leaves, thyme and tomato sauce.
• Let it simmer for another 15 minutes. Season with pepper and salt.

Notes

You need to use ripe tomatoes to make the sauce really red. If needed, you can “help” with tomato paste.

Keyword Champignons à la Grecque, Greek style, mushrooms

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History and origin

In fact there is little documented on the history and origin of Champignons à la Grecque. At least I did not found much… Although the name indicates this might be a Greek specialty this does not seem the case. A Hoax, a historical error or fake history? Who knows…

The method “à la Grecque” seems to be used to preserve vegetables. Vegetables, in this case mushrooms, can be preserved for at least one week submerged in this sweet and sour sauce. In the original sauce “à  la Grecque” no tomatoes were used at all. Most probably one cook experimented with tomato sauce and this new version became quite popular. Other vegetables that can be made à la Grecque are leek, spring onions (in both cases with the white and tender part) or silver onions.

For those who speak or understand Dutch, you can find more details on seniorennet.be. The author there could trace back the method to 1904, in the French “Repertoire de la cuisine”.

I also found evidence on the French website Francevegetalienne. They are quite sure that the origin is not in Greece. Cautiously they claim that it could be a French creation, with its origin in Paris. To each his truth 😉

I combined my Champignons à la Grecque with parsley root puree. They combine perfectly together!

If you speak Dutch, you can find the Dutch version of this recipe on gerechtenweb.blog.