Bordelaise sauce is a delectable marrow bone thickened red wine sauce; a French classic. Though I "luf" it, I wanted that flavor without the calories of the bone marrow (which is not to say that a bit of butter is not involved in my version) and thought that meaty mushrooms might fit the bill. From there I started to crave mushrooms on toast, hence this completely inauthentic hybrid of a creation, which was truly delicious (especially once I added an optional dollop of Marmite to increase the meaty-umami flavor).
This makes enough mushroom mixture for 4 garlicky toasts, which served 2 people for dinner chez moi but could potentially stretch to serve 4 less greedy people, especially if placed on top of a robust salad of bitter greens with a particularly mustardy vinaigrette.
1 lb assorted mushrooms, stems removed and cut into roughly the same size pieces
4 pieces multigrain bread
3 Tbsps butter
2 tsps olive oil
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 clove garlic, peeled and halved
1/4 cup red wine
1 tsp Marmite (optional)
Salt to taste
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat in the largest skillet you have. As soon as the butter has melted, toss in the mushrooms, the thyme and some salt.
Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring so that the butter doesn't burn, and let the mushrooms release their juices.
Once the mushrooms are tender and the pan is nearly dry (this will take only a minute or so), pour in the red wine and dollop in the Marmite. Stir well to combine and cook into the mushrooms have absorbed all the liquid. Again, this will take a minute or so.
Transfer the mushrooms to a bowl and add pepper and more salt, if needed. Set aside.
Return the pan to the heat without washing it out.
Add half of the remaining butter, 1 tsp of the olive oil and the garlic clove to the pan. As soon as the butter melts and the butter-oil mixture is foaming around the edges, add the pieces of bread and cook until crisp, a minute or so.
Flip the pieces of bread, add the remaining butter and oil and swirl the pan to distribute the oil and butter under the pieces of bread. Fry for a minute or so more until second side is crunchy as well.
Discard the garlic, place the bread on your serving plates and top with a portion of the mushroom mixture.
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