Mushroom Toast

I know I’m not the only one who’s daydreamed about a dish they’ve never tasted before.

For about 2-3 months, I kept imagining what the perfect grilled cheese would taste like — the bread should be crunchy yet soft, and not so thick that it overpowers the cheese; there should be some meatiness; the cheese should be a little sharp and mild, and have just the right amount of gooey-ness when melted; maybe it would be good with a little bit of pesto or some type of green to cut the savoriness?

I came up with what I think is the perfect recipe. It didn’t end up being a sandwich because I thought two slices of bread would be too much. But I call it perfect because this ish tasted EXACTLY how I imagined it would taste in my head. And it was freaking delicious.

I paired my mushroom toasts with some tomato soup. It was so. freaking. good.

Below are the ingredients and recipe, but even if you don’t have all the ingredients, you can always make substitutions, which I included for some items!

Ingredients for 4 pieces of toast:

Oyster mushrooms (4 pieces)
- You can substitute with enoki, king oyster, shiitake, or portobello. You want to use a mushroom that has some chew when cooked.
Arugula (1 cup)
- I chose arugula for its peppery, slightly bitter flavor. I wanted something that would cut through the savoriness of the cheese and bacon. You can really use any green that has a distinct taste, like basil or parsley, without being overpowering.
- Half of the arugula will be blended with the oil, salt, and pepper to create a paste. The other half will be used raw!
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Manchego cheese (I used 5-6 crumbles per toast)
- I chose manchego because it’s sharp, salty, and melty. So any cheese that has these qualities would work well! Some that come to mind are cheddar, provolone, and asiago.
Gruyere cheese (I used 2 slices per toast, but definitely use more if your bread slices are bigger!)
- You want to couple the sharp cheese with a milder one that’s melty but not too oozy. I steered away from mozzarella for this reason. Some other cheeses to use could be swiss or gouda.
French bread (4 slices)
- I used french bread because of its softness and mild taste. If you don’t mind a little tanginess and chew, you could use sourdough. I think even making this on a toasted tortilla wrap would work!
Extra thick bacon (2 slices cut into smaller pieces)
- I used extra thick so there would be some bite and chew to the bacon! Some substitutions could be prosciutto, pancetta, or maybe even chorizo links. But I also think the mushroom toast would taste good without meat!

Directions:

For those that want to top the toast with an arugula paste instead of fresh arugula, blend half of the arugula with about a tablespoon or two of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare the cheese slices and crumbles. Just a reminder that I used 2 slices of gruyere per toast, and about 5-6 crumbles of manchego per toast. A tip if you don’t know this already: a potato peeler is a handy tool for cutting thin slices of cheese!
Wipe down each mushroom with a damp paper towel, taking off any dirt. Cut in half each slice of oyster mushroom, so it’s better distributed on the surface of the toast.
Slice your two pieces of bacon into smaller pieces!
Get four slices of the bread ready to go.

Cook the bacon, then when it’s close to being done, add the mushrooms into the pan so it can cook in the bacon fat. The mushrooms should sear nicely.
Take out the bacon and mushroom, and put however many slices of bread fit on the pan. Place the heat on medium.
Let the side that you first put down get toasty. Then flip and start building the toast!
- No need to add butter since the bread will toast in the bacon fat. If you’re using prosciutto or no meat at all, butter both sides of the bread before putting it on the pan! If your’e using chorizo, there should already be enough fat in the pan to toast the bread.
Add the cheese.
Place some arugula paste on top. If you’re using fresh arugula, add it when you take the toast off the heat.
Add the bacon slices
Add the mushrooms
Place a top over the pan for a minute so the cheese can melt.