Honey Balsamic Garlic Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 450g button mushrooms, whole or sliced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil — staple
• Salt and ground black pepper, to taste — staple
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 4 tsp crushed garlic (about 4 cloves)
• Chopped parsley, to garnish — optional garnish, skip

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium-high heat.
2. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook 4-5 minutes until they start to soften and release their liquid.
3. Meanwhile, whisk the balsamic vinegar, honey and garlic together in a small bowl.
4. Pour the sauce over the mushrooms and cook a further 3-5 minutes, tossing, until the sauce reduces to a glaze and the mushrooms are tender.
5. Serve immediately (scatter with parsley if you have it).

Notes

- Side dish — pair with a protein main; not a standalone rotation dinner. Good alongside steak, roast chicken or sausages. The main it sits next to has to carry the whole 40-50g protein per serve on its own (house rule) — this contributes 4g. - Vegetarian as written. No meat added by design. If you do want it as a one-pan main, add 800g diced chicken thigh (or 550g chicken breast) browned before the mushrooms and double the balsamic-honey-garlic glaze; that lands ~42g protein and ~450 cal per serve. - Source quantities converted from imperial: 16 oz mushrooms = 450g (one and a bit Woolworths 400g punnets, or buy the 500g and use the lot). - Cook in a wide pan over decent heat — crowded mushrooms steam and the glaze never forms. - Portobello or Swiss brown mushrooms work well and hold their shape better than button. - Calories/protein are per serve as a side, straight from the source. - Veg sweep: no house side added — this dish IS a vegetable side (~112g mushroom per serve) and pairs with a protein main that carries its own veg; adding a second side would double up. No pre-packed mixes here. Crushed garlic lost its staple marker and gained a search hint; parsley is now an optional garnish with no shopping line.