A mushroom focused salad was, well, interesting. Actually I didn’t think it was bad enough not to eat. I ate just about all of it for lunch and not because it was the only thing I brought with me. There is definitely room for improvement however.
Under Construction
The mushroom salad concoction went like this:
- 5-6 button mushrooms, stems removed and sliced thin
- 1.5 cups chopped Romaine
- 5 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 onion, sliced
- 1/2 bell pepper, finely diced
- 1/8 tsp ground marjoram
- 5 seasoned croutons
- 1 can King Oscar 2-layer sardines, drained
- 2-3 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette dressing
Let’s start with what I liked; the mushrooms were really soft and earthy tasting while the croutons and crisp Romaine provided a nice crunchy contrast. The fish in there with the dressing was good as well.
On the “not so good” end were the onions. I used raw yellow onions and they really dominated the taste. Quite harsh and almost bitter at times compared to the green onions I have been having in my salad. I really didn’t taste the bell pepper that much. It was kinda lost in there and I really didn’t get a sense of what the ground marjoram brought to the equation – I used it since it was listed in the pairings for mushrooms and even when I tasted a raw mushroom with it, I didn’t taste much difference.
So, if I was to do this again, I’d eliminate the onion, perhaps not even include one and ditch the marjoram. I’d also add more bell pepper and perhaps just slice them instead of dicing – maybe I wouldn’t miss them that way.
I’ve got about 6 mushrooms left so there’s room for more experimentation.
