Tips & techniques
Mache, sometimes called lamb's lettuce or corn salad, is a hardy herb with a long history in Europe. It was common in England and France in the 1700s and was never actively cultivated until relatively recently. It's not entirely clear where the name comes from. Some say because lambs were partial to it for a snack; others suggest its regular appearance during lambing season is responsible. The leaves are bright green and nutty-tasting, with a mild crunch. Though you can cook it, it's best eaten raw, either alone in a salad, or as a garnish.
Mushrooms are 80 percent to 90 percent water, and that makes them difficult to brown.
Basically, you want to get rid of some of that water quickly, to drive it away from the area nearest the cooking surface. There are several things you can do to facilitate this.
Begin by waiting to salt until after the mushrooms have browned. Salt will only slow things down by drawing water to the surface.
Avoid crowding the pan. Mushrooms would rather steam in their juices than saute. Packing them tightly into a pan gives that liquid no room to burn off.
Cook mushrooms over high heat, using a heavy stainless-steel pan -- or even better, a well-seasoned cast-iron pan. Give the pan enough time on the burner to get scorching-hot.
At that point, add a generous amount of butter or oil, give it a quick swirl and throw the mushrooms in. Once they hit the pan, stir to coat in fat and then do not fuss with them. Browning takes time and is impeded only if you continually flip the mushrooms. Remember, you are not stir-frying, you are sauteing.
The mushrooms will immediately absorb most of the fat but soon will expel it along with lots of juice. You'll start getting color once these juices have cooked off. When you've browned one side, flip the mushrooms.
Scripps Howard News Service