Currently viewing the tag: "mushrooms"

Lacinato, also called cavolo nero (black cabbage), is a kale that benefits from long cooking. Its deep flavor and sturdy texture blend well with the chewy quality and sweet flavor of farro. This dish can be cooked with extra liquid to make a soupy dish, or cooked until dry as here. You could put the finished dish into an oiled gratin dish and crack eggs into it and bake it with cheese for a light entrée, or toss in sausage for a one pot meal.

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An all-vegetable and grain stuffing makes this lighter than the usual version with ground beef stuffing. This is a great way to use up left-over grains such as farro, bulgur, rice, or quinoa.

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Farro is an ancient, unhybridized form of wheat that is also known as emmer wheat. It has recently become popular, as has spelt. Although some recipes say they are the same, they are not. Spelt (Triticum aestivum spelta) is a grain that takes longer to cook, and can use a soaking before cooking, where farro (Triticum dicoccum) cooks quicker. Farro is also sweeter tasting that spelt.

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Although this dish originally was made to stuff chicken, it is quite good on it’s own as a side dish. The goat cheese is a nice option, but the dish is fine without it. Pine nuts work well in lieu of pistachios. This stuffing works great in whole chickens, chicken breasts, pork chops, fish, or even big pasta shells.

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This dish is great as a combination of two recipes, but the chicken is quite good without the stuffing, and the stuffing makes a nice side dish on its own, as well. Lemon infused olive oil is available at gourmet shops, better grocery stores, and you can find some locally made at various farmer’s markets. Agrumato is an excellent commercial brand and Colline di Santa Cruz is produced in the Santa Cruz area by Valencia Creek Farms. You can even make something that approaches it on your own by infusing oil with just the peel, but it is worth the money to have a bottle of this on hand.

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This is a riff on something from a restaurant. Light in body, but with plenty of flavor.

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This is loosely based around a traditional Japanese treatment of greens. The stems of shiitakes are frequently too tough to eat, but still contain plenty of flavor. Using the stems for a “stock” base keeps them from going to waste and boosts the flavor of the dish. See Chef’s Notes for more about this.

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This salad is based on a salad I used to get 30 or more years ago at Courtney’s Bistro in Manhattan Beach. I think it was the first time I had a real tomato, and I loved it. This recipe is about good ingredients simply presented so they show off their best. The mushrooms are done ahead of time, so this recipe is a snap to assemble last minute, and looks elegant on a plate making it a good one for company. Prep the lettuce ahead of time and store in a box wrapped in toweling in the refrigerator to make things easier. The mushrooms need to be started ahead of time-in the morning, the day before, or at least 2 hours ahead of serving.

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This stock is used in the same way you would use a dark chicken stock or other meat stock. It works well as a base for sauces and soups, and if you are feeling under the weather it is nice for when you don’t want to actually eat, but want some nutrition. It is really nice heated up with some fresh ginger in it. In meat stocks, the agent that thickens it is gelatin. In vegetables, the equivalent is pectin. By charring the onions and sautéing the rest of the vegetables, the pectin is catalyzed and so more readily available to the stock. Konbu* is a type of kelp. Seaweeds are used commercially as a thickener in many things, from toothpaste to ice cream, and is used that way here.

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This is called blond vegetable stock rather than “Light Vegetable Stock” because it is light in color, or blond, and to avoid confusion that it is somehow light in flavor or calories.  Use this where you would a light chicken stock, as a soup base, or in vegetables. Be sure to start with cold water, and skim frequently.

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INGREDIENTS:
1½ pounds button mushrooms, cleaned with a towel or paper towel, sliced 1/8th inch
1-2 cups Balsamic Vinaigrette

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This is a simple dish with big flavor. The mushrooms can be done days ahead, and I always seem to have some balsamic vinaigrette in the refrigerator. The mushrooms can be used for many other things besides the salad.  Use as an antipasti with roasted beets and salumi, put in sandwiches, or heat up and use as a topping or garnish for grilled lamb, beef, or sausages. This dish can be made with regular arugula, but the “wild” arugula has more crunch and a nuttier flavor.

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The inspiration for this came from thinking of blueberry pancakes. The idea is to use this stuffing in pork chops or a pork roast, or chicken breasts that have been glazed with a little maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, and rosemary. This would go well with duck also.

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Although this dish seems ridiculously simple, the flavors meld to yield a sophisticated tasting dish which dish is quite popular here, even with the kids, who normally don’t care for hot spinach dishes. The flavor of the mushrooms helps mitigate the sometimes strong earthiness of spinach. This dish is easy to riff on, making it flexible and fun to make. Add tofu and leftover grains for a one-dish meal. Some spinach has stems that are unpalatable-chewy or stringy-but some have tender, succulent stems. If this spinach falls into the latter class, by all means use the stems. You will have to chew on a couple stems to know if they will work. If they do not, just ignore the recipe instructions pertaining to them.

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INGREDIENTS:
6 cups braising greens, washed and chopped or torn into 1 inch bits
½ pound oyster mushrooms, torn into strips
1 leek, white and some of pale green part, split and cut into 2 inch lengths, then cut lengthwise into 1/8th inch shreds

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This is another result of a Tour du Fridge. I usually have extra grains in the freezer just for dishes like this. When I cook grains I always make more than I think I’ll need so I can freeze some for dishes like this, or just for a mixed grain pilaf. Defrost gently in the microwave or float the bag in warm water. This dish is great with sausage.

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INGREDIENTS:

For Cabbage rolls:

2 pound head green cabbage
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

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Another spur of the moment dish with what was on hand. You can use regular or spicy Italian sausages, it is good either way. I served it with pasta, although it would pair nicely with farro, barley, or rice.

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These packets are three recipes rolled into one. It seems like a long recipe, but it is not really hard. It does require a little time, but the rewards are great, and the steps can be broken up over a couple days or more. This is an easy recipe to expand, and all elements of the dish freeze well, so making extras is a good idea. You can freeze the lentils alone or combined with the vegetables, or freeze the entire packets for another meal.  Once you have done this dish you will find shortcuts or variations of your own. The recipe is three parts; the lentils, the vegetable hash, and the assembled finished timbales (another name for the finished packets).  When cutting up vegetables for the recipe, just remember that everything should be around the size of the lentils-keeping in mind the lentils will expand a little when cooked.

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Here is another mei quin and shiitake recipe. This version has a little more depth of flavor that comes from the Ground Bean Paste, and the shiitake flavor is less prominent.  Although based on traditional Chinese techniques and ingredients, I doubt you’ll find it in any restaurant. My family loved it, even the kids.

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Although this seems like a lot of ingredients, this recipe utilizes two components that are then combined for the end product. The second set of ingredients is used to flavor the choi and uses the stems that would usually be discarded, which bothered me. When I first did this recipe, I was tossing the stems into a small teapot that “was there” to keep them out of the way-thus the genesis of this idea.

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Although this seems like a lot of ingredients, this recipe utilizes two components that are then combined for the end product. The second set of ingredients is used to flavor the collards and uses the stems that would usually be discarded, which bothered me. When I first did this recipe, I was tossing the stems into a small teapot that “was there” to keep them out of the way-thus the genesis of this idea.

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