Ghebe cu smântână și usturoi (Honey mushrooms with cream and garlic) (Romanian)

Honey mushrooms are a very popular food item in the Romanian cuisine. Each spring people actually go in the forests to pick them (even your average Joe who's not in the mushroom picking business and wouldn't risk picking any other kinds of mushrooms for fear he doesn't know them too well) and large packs of these mushrooms are also frozen for the winter months. 
To cut a long story short, this mushroom is consumed a lot and in various dishes: as a vegetarian alternative filling for sarmale (stuffed grape leaves, usually made with a meat-based filling), as a main component in earthy stews, stove-made or baked, stuffed with breadcrumbs and cheese or simply cooked with onions and garlic and served with a little cream, like here.
The key to obtaining something delicious from these mushrooms is cooking them long enough to melt away any potential chewy textures. Once that stage is reached, they become super-soft and buttery, unlike any mushroom you've tasted before. Enjoy.

Last year: Home-made garam masala (Indian spice mix).
Two years ago: nothing.
Three years ago: nothing.
Four years ago: nothing.
Five years ago: Peanut butter and bacon sandwich (American).
Six years ago: Breakfast pizza with bacon and egg.
Seven years ago: Dukkah-coated turkey wraps.
Eight years ago: Sweet pumpkin strips, pan-fried, with honey (vegan) and Simple wellness salad with potatoes, apple, feta and egg.




Ingredients (serves 4):

• 1 kg honey mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 yellow onions
• 5 garlic cloves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 150 g creme fraiche or thick sour cream

Wash the honey mushrooms and cut off any unsavory bits and ends. Finely chop the onion and garlic. 

Heat the oil in a medium pot and add the onion and garlic to it. Cook them, stirring once in a while, until softened and golden. Add the mushrooms and mix well. 

Cover and let them cook for 40-50 minutes on low heat. Stir every now and then. It's done when it the juices have evaporated, the mushrooms and really soft and the whole thing seems to take on the consistency of mashed potatoes when you stir through it:

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to serving bowls and top with 2 tablespoons sour cream per serving. It's done, dig in! :)