All sorts of mushrooms take the lead in main dishes
As the farmers market continues each Wednesday afternoon, I have
been picking up a mix of fresh vegetables to use for the week.
An ingredient I’ve been picking up regularly with the fresh
produce at the farmers market
– though it technically is not a vegetable – are mushrooms. One
of the vendors offers buttons, portabellas, criminis and shitakes
all for $3 a basket. Some of them even come pre-sliced. And when it
comes to mushrooms, the fresher they are, the better they
taste.
All sorts of mushrooms take the lead in main dishes
As the farmers market continues each Wednesday afternoon, I have been picking up a mix of fresh vegetables to use for the week.
An ingredient I’ve been picking up regularly with the fresh produce at the farmers market – though it technically is not a vegetable – are mushrooms. One of the vendors offers buttons, portabellas, criminis and shitakes all for $3 a basket. Some of them even come pre-sliced. And when it comes to mushrooms, the fresher they are, the better they taste.
A rule of thumb with mushrooms is to use them within a few days of purchasing them, or they start to go bad. The packaged kind at the grocery store can be stored on a shelf in the refrigerator for up to a week. If stored in the crisper, the mushrooms start to pick up moisture and spoil. For loose mushrooms, they can be stored in a paper bag with the top loosely folded over, and again should be placed on a shelf in the refrigerator. They will last a few days, but the sooner they are used, the better.
In my house, mushrooms find their way into many meals from spaghetti with marinara sauce to stir fry to egg omelets. But every once in a while, I want a meal where the mushroom flavor plays a central part.
The recipes below offer just that.
Creamy mushroom spaghetti
Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray
Salt
1 lb. whole-wheat or whole-grain spaghetti
1 1/2 lb. mixed mushrooms – shiitake, crimini, any that catch your eye at market
1/3 c. extra-virgin olive oil
2 leeks
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 c. dry white wine
1/2 c. cream
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano, for topping
Heat water to a boil for the pasta, salt water, drop in pasta and cook to al dente.
Wipe mushrooms clean with damp towel. Remove woody stems. Thinly slice the mushrooms.
Heat a large deep skillet with extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until deeply golden and tender, 10 minutes.
While mushrooms cook, halve the leeks lengthwise. Cut off a couple of inches from tough tops. Trim off root end. Thinly slice the leek then vigorously wash in a large bowl of cold water, separating all the layers to free of grit. Let leeks sit a few minutes then lift out of the water and dry on kitchen towel.
Add leeks to mushrooms along with garlic and season with salt, pepper and fresh thyme. Cook 3 to 4 minutes more, then add wine, reduce half a minute then stir in cream and heat through. Toss pasta with mushrooms and adjust seasoning. Top with grated cheese at the table.
Mushroom and spinach quiche with potato crust
Recipe courtesy of Lifetime’s ‘Cook Yourself Thin’
1/2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and shredded
3 1/4 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 onion, diced
8 oz. white mushrooms, sliced
5-ounce bag baby spinach
3 large eggs
1 c. skim milk
1 oz. Gruyere or cheddar cheese, shredded in a food processor or on the large holes of a grater
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Lightly grease a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie dish with 1/4 tsp. oil. Toss potatoes with 1 tsp. oil and 1/8 tsp. each salt and pepper. Press into an even layer in pie dish, up the sides like a crust. Bake until golden brown at the edges and dry, about 20 minutes. Let cool.
Lower the oven to 325 degrees. Heat 1 tsp. oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened and golden, about 5 minutes. Add remaining teaspoon oil and mushrooms and cook, stirring, until mushrooms release their liquid and most of the liquid evaporates, about 8 minutes. Add spinach and 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, just until spinach wilts, about 30 seconds. Let cool slightly.
Whisk together eggs, milk and remaining 1/8 tsp. salt and pepper. Spread the mushroom mixture in an even layer in the pie dish, and top with an even layer of the cheese. Carefully pour in egg mixture. Bake until firm around the edges but still wobbly in the center, about 20 minutes. Let cool, and serve warm or at room temperature.
