It’s warm enough to get the BBQ going and I say it’s time to grill some rustic bread brushed in roasted garlic olive oil and top that with hot sauteed mushrooms, delicious blue cheese, and a side of potted fish.
This is a dish that rescues leftovers and turns them into a delightful star of the dish. Today I’m rescuing leftover grilled trout, which is still as fresh as the lake, and a bag of mixed mushrooms (button and cremini) that are getting on in age. We’ll fix them both up.
Let’s start with trout: I’m making potted fish. You can use any cooked fish that didn’t get consumed the night before. This is the simplest, most elegant thing you can do with leftover fish. I flake the trout, add some fresh dill because I have it (not necessary for this dish).
Melt a knob of butter. You could clarify the butter here by skimming off the milk fat solids, but this isn’t a Martha Stewart blog so everything is going into our potted fish.
Pour that over the fish. Season with salt and pepper and get that into the fridge for the flavours to meld. When ready to serve, this becomes a spreadable fish delight that can go on grilled bread or crackers.
Now for the mushroom toast. Mushrooms are like the supporting cast to the star of this dish: hefty slices of the best blue cheese you can find. In this case, I’m lucky enough to have a wedge of Bleu D’Auvergne in the fridge and it’s just the kind of creamy, bold flavour profile I’m seeking.
The bread I have on hand isn’t glamorous: it’s grocery store sliced sourdough that’s fairly meh on its own but I’m going to bring it to life by brushing both sides of the bread with a roasted garlic/olive oil mixture. Every week I cut the head off of a garlic bulb, drizzle it with olive oil and salt, wrap it in tin foil and roast it at 350 F for 20-30 minutes. That sits in the fridge to put in salad dressings, on pizzas, or to spread on bread. It’s a gift that keeps on giving.
Slather that onto both sides of the bread, stacking each bread piece on top of each other so that the oil is absorbed on every piece.
Now to get the mushrooms ready. I clean my mushrooms and give them a fairly thin slice. I’ve also cut a lime in half–I’m going to throw that lime, cut side down, onto the BBQ as I grill my bread. Grilled lime or lemon halves squeezed on your dish at the last minute elevates everything. Highly recommend. Blue D’Auvergne is sliced. I’ve got a half cup of white wine at the ready for once I’ve crisped up my mushrooms.
Mise en place. Ready for the grill.
Let’s get to work. I’m setting up my station at the BBQ, which has a side burner that is perfect for sauteeing my mushrooms and the grill will turn my average bread slices into a crispy, rustic canvass for the mushroom and potted trout toasts.
Brush a clean grill with olive oil and close the lid. This is where the grilled toast action will happen. Soon. But, first, the mushrooms.
Into a pan I put a generous glug of olive oil and a knob of butter. The olive oil prevents the butter from burning, the butter helps brown the mushrooms and give them flavour depth.
It’s a beautiful spring day and I’m happy to be cooking outdoors. Thank god for our terrace BBQ. It ain’t fancy, but it does the trick.
On high heat, get that pan going and once the butter melts, add the mushrooms. You want those mushrooms to get nice and crispy, so keep stirring and let them sit enough to encourage browning too.
Now it’s time to bring these mushrooms back to life. I pour 1/4 cup of white wine into the pan and let that sautee until the wine has completely reduced (ie disappeared). That wine will flavour and rehydrate the mushrooms.
Once the wine has completely disappeared, add a knob of butter (glossiness!) and turn the burner off.
Let’s get those brushed slices of bread on the grill, along with the half lime, cut side down. (You could use lemon here to equally great effect). Grill the toasts on both sides until they’re crisp and you’ve got pretty grill marks. Like this.
This is such a rustic dish, I feel like I’m camping but, actually, I’m on the terrace of a condo in Toronto in the middle of a pandemic. We must away to imaginary lives once in a while as a coping mechanism.
Let’s plate up! Grilled toast gets stacked into a pile. There’s the lovely potted trout in a clear glass mini-jar. And look at the mushrooms and blue cheese. This is the type of sandwich that’s served as a platter and people tear away at the bread and help themselves. (Don’t forget to squeeze the grilled lime on the hot mushrooms just before serving).
You know, for a sandwich platter inspired by leftovers in the fridge and a star ingredient, Blue D’Auvergne, this is one of the best so far in my A Year in Sandwiches food blog. Let’s see if it makes the final top 10. I’ve got half a year of sandwiches more to go, so who knows?
— Trish Hennessy
A Year in Sandwiches 