Covent Market Calendar - February (Herbed Ontario Mushroom Crostini)

It's already time for the February calendar recipes. For the Covent Garden Market calendar it's all about mushrooms this month--Herbed Ontario Mushroom Crostini

As a child I loathed mushrooms. Now, as an adult though I absolutely love them. Well...I love them cooked anyways. I still won't eat them raw.

As I spoke about in my January post my goal is to make all of the recipes from the calendar and collecting the ingredients required from the market itself. After some though I think I'm also going to profile a vendor in each post going forward as well.

For this post I needed a baguette. Right away I knew that I would be getting it from The International Bakery. A vendor at the market for over 40 years they have many products available - from whole wheat bread, rye bread, pizza, focaccia bread, buns, ciabatta, cakes, cookies, treats, and of course, baguettes. When the outdoor farmer's market is open (May to December) they have a table out there as well. I love their focaccia breads/buns the best - I like to slice them open and use them for sandwich bread. Delicious!

Ingredients:

• 20 slices baguette (from International Bakery)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots (from Doris Family Produce)
• 4 cloves minced garlic (from Havaris Produce)
• 6 cups assorted Ontario mushrooms, sliced (from Havaris Produce and Doris Family Produce)
• salt
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Canadian Parmesan (from Smiths' Cheese)
• 1/4 cup mixed herbs, minced (from Doris Family Produce)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 20 parmesan curls for garnish

Heat oven to 400F. Brush both sides of the bread with olive oil. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 4 minutes per side. Remove from oven and set aside.

To make topping: In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic, saute for one minute. Stir in mushrooms and saute until softened and beginning to brown, 5-10 minutes. Add a bit of salt at this time.

Turn heat to high and add the white wine. Stir for a few minutes until liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat, stir in the grated parmesan, herbs, salt and pepper.

To assemble: Warm up the toasts for another minute, top with warm mushroom topping, and garnish with a Parmesan curl.

For an online version of the Covent Garden Market Calendar see this link: http://www.coventmarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2012-Market-Calendar.pdf

For other blog posts about the Covent Garden Market (and the calendar) see here: http://southwesternontariofoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/Covent%20Garden%20Market

March Recipe? Lemon and Maple Shrimp Fettuccine - my husband is excited about this one. He loves shrimp!