Sauté some rustic swiss brown mushrooms in butter and add some wholesome chickpeas, bitter radicchio and fresh snow pea sprouts for a delicious salad to have with any main meal.
Why I Love Swiss Brown Mushroom Salad with Chickpeas
I came across these baby Swiss brown mushrooms at the market, and I couldn’t resist the rustic brown fungi with the perfectly round caps.
Nothing better than tossing them through some butter to give it a decadent finish.
To counterbalance the fat, I added some snow pea sprouts for freshness, radicchio for bitterness and chickpeas to make it a wholesome salad recipe. Besides, I love the combination of chickpea and mushrooms.
No better way to top it off than with a healthy mustard salad dressing, keeping it simple, so the flavours of the other ingredients aren’t drowned out.
What Are Swiss Brown Mushrooms?
Swiss brown mushrooms are the baby of the Portobello family. They are also commonly known as Cremini, Roman or Italian mushrooms.
Swiss brown mushrooms have a tan to dark brown colour. Its texture is firmer and denser than that of the normal button mushrooms while their flavour is much more robust, bolder and earthier.
These mushrooms have less water content or moisture compared to the button mushrooms, which means that they hold their shape better when cooked. They are great in sauces, kebabs, stir-fries, stews and of course salads.
When are Swiss Brown Mushrooms in Season?
These are available all year round. Yay!
How to Select Swiss Brown Mushrooms?
When you’re choosing your mushrooms, they should be firm to touch, have a lovely consistent tan to dark colour throughout the cap and its surface is slightly on the shiny side.
How to Store Swiss Brown Mushrooms?
If the mushrooms are stored well, they can last up to a week in the fridge.
Always store mushrooms in paper bags as it absorbs the extra moisture, allowing the mushrooms to breathe.
Plastic bags trap moisture which in turn gets absorbed by the mushrooms, making them go slimy.
How to Clean Swiss Brown Mushrooms?
Mushrooms should never be washed as it absorbs all the moisture. Instead, clean it gently with a damp cloth to remove any dirt you may find.
There is a misconception that the skin needs to be peeled as it’s dirty or inedible, but that’s simply not true. You’d remove all the goodness and the gorgeous colours.
What Are Snow Pea Sprouts?
Snow pea sprouts are the new shoots of the snow pea plant. They are firm but tender, and they are harvested when the first leaves appear.
Its stem is slightly translucent, white and succulent. The leaves are delicate and bright green.
In my opinion, the best way to eat them is raw. As they don’t possess overpowering flavours, they can be thrown into almost any salad recipe. They are so healthy, nutritious and ever so fresh.
How to Make Swiss Brown Mushroom Salad with Chickpeas
How to Make the Salad
Hand tear the radicchio leaves to about 4-6 pieces, depending on how big they are.
Drain the chickpeas from the can and pat dry.
In a medium-sized fry pan, melt 30g of butter and sauté Swiss brown mushrooms for about 3-4 minutes. Set aside
Pick some leaves from the snow pea sprouts for garnish.
How to Make the Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette
In a small mixing bowl, add olive oil, red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard.
Mix until well combined.
How to Assemble the Salad
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the radicchio leaves, chickpeas, sautéed Swiss brown mushrooms, snow pea sprouts and Dijon mustard salad dressing.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Toss until well combined.
Place the salad in a heap on a serving platter.
Garnish with the leaves of the snow pea sprouts.
Serve.
This tasty salad recipe is only 4 ingredients plus a healthy mustard salad dressing.
For all you fungi lovers, this chickpea and mushroom recipe is a real winner and fantastic to have for midweek entertaining or family meals on the weekend. Enjoy!
That’s all!
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Recipe
Swiss Brown Mushroom Salad with Chickpeas
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Instructions
Salad
- Hand tear the radicchio leaves to about 4-6 pieces, depending on how big they are.
- Drain the chickpeas from the can and pat dry.
- In a medium-sized fry pan, melt 30g of butter and sauté Swiss brown mushrooms for about 3-4 minutes. Set aside.
- Pick some leaves from the snow pea sprouts for garnish.
Salad Dressing
- In a small mixing bowl, add olive oil, red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard.
- Mix until well combined.
Assembly
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the radicchio leaves, chickpeas, sautéed Swiss brown mushrooms, snow pea sprouts and Dijon mustard salad dressing.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Toss until well combined.
- Place the salad in a heap on a serving platter.
- Garnish with the leaves of the snow pea sprouts.
- Serve.
Notes
- If you find the radicchio leaves too peppery and bitter, you can substitute with mixed leaves, spinach, watercress or a combination of all of them to give a little more variety.
- Button mushrooms can be used to replace Swiss brown mushrooms. I wouldn’t recommend oyster mushrooms as it absorbs the butter too quickly and becomes limp. Still delicious, but for the purpose of this salad, it would become a bit too oily.
- Instead of snow pea sprouts, you can opt for broccoli sprouts, alfalfa or even micro salad. What you’re after is a delicate leaf/shoot option, so it goes well with the harder texture of the radicchio.
- If you want a bit of kick, feel free to add some horseradish or hot English mustard to the salad dressing.
Nutrition
*Disclaimer: Nutritional information provided is an estimate only and generated by an online calculator.
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Ruchi
Love the thought of adding mushrooms in salad. Looks so simple to make. Love chickpeas.
The Devil Wears Salad
Yeah, people don’t often add mushrooms to salads but we adore mushrooms so we try to create salad with them as much as possible.
Natalie
This is one gorgeous salad. I love the added chickpeas and radicchio is amazing this time of the year. I must make this soon. Thanks for lovely idea.
The Devil Wears Salad
Thanks Natalie! Hope you do and do let us know how you go!
Chef Dennis
I’m always looking for ways to use chic peas and your salad was perfect. It was a big hit at our dinner table.
The Devil Wears Salad
Love chickpeas! This salad looks light on but it’s a good size as the mushrooms and chickpeas can be so filling.
Heather K
Great recipe! I looooove mushrooms!
The Devil Wears Salad
Thanks Heather!
Emily Flint
I love mushrooms and never put them in salads enough. This recipe is perfect and the simple dressing was perfect for this flavor combination.
The Devil Wears Salad
I guess we always associate mushrooms being added to main dishes like casserole, stews and pasta. They are fantastic to use in salads that’s for sure.
Tamara
Such a delicious and colorful salad. It was perfect on our brunch menu. Can’t wait to make it again!
The Devil Wears Salad
Thanks Tamara! Glad you liked it! And for brunch too…..great idea!