I have a fascination with mushrooms and lately I’ve been craving them like crazy. I was thinking about making a mushroom casserole like I had growing up (although I’d use fresh mushrooms instead of canned soup), but do you have any other recipes to recommend? Something with lots and lots of mushroom flavor?
As it happens, in my never-ending quest for new Thanksgiving side dishes, I tried out a mushroom-related recipe from the November issue of Bon Appetit last week. It seems almost too simple to pair meaty shiitakes with bitter greens, but the resulting deep flavor is something too good to be reserved for an annual meal.
You can play around with various mushrooms and greens depending on your market’s availability — I’m thinking of adding a few beet tops in, substituting oyster mushrooms and arugula in the spring, or pairing hen-of-the-woods with my beloved kale.
And though the original recipe calls for the mushrooms to be pan-sauteed in batches, I find a quick oven roast on the mushrooms gives you more even caramelization intensifies the earthy flavor of each tender slice. There’s always the tendency to overcrowd your pan with mushrooms so they end up steaming instead of searing, and throwing them onto a big old baking sheet takes that out of the equation.
Winter Greens and Mushrooms
Adapted from Bon Appetit
- 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms
- 1 bunch chard
- 1 head escarole
- 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Olive oil
Preheat the oven to 350˚.
Clean the mushrooms, remove the stems*, and slice the caps. Toss the slices with olive oil to coat and season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet and roast until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to a large bowl and reserve.
While the mushrooms are roasting, clean your greens (I use the Alton Brown method of filling my sink and swishing), remove the stems from the chard*, and roughly chop/tear all the leaves into smaller pieces, as if you were making a salad.
In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat 1/4 cup of stock and add half the greens, stirring gently until wilted but still retaining their color. Transfer the wilted greens to your mushroom bowl and repeat the process with the other half of the stock and greens.
Wipe out the skillet, toss in a tablespoon of olive oil, and saute the onion about 5 minutes until tender. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, saute for an additional minute or so, and add the greens, mushrooms, and any liquid in the bowl from the wilted greens back to the skillet. Toss to heat through, season with salt and pepper, and serve.
*Note: Bag your cleaned mushroom and chard stems and save in the freezer as fodder for a quick vegetable stock later on. I often keep a bag for celery ends, carrot tops, and other veggie bits that I can use to fortify my broths and make quick stocks.
Ask Casey apparently also makes house calls — I fielded a few Thanksgiving emergencies from you guys last Wednesday and Thursday. You know where to find me: caseyATgoodfoodstoriesDOTcom.
