Miso Mushroom Stroganoff Toast

One of the shows we love to watch at home is Beat Bobby Flay. I know, I know. It is a cooking competition, which have become entirely too common, too dramatic, and are not much about the actual cookery. But Beat Bobby Flay is one of the few food competitions that I actually like because they are really cooking, sweating, and grinding. Also, the judging is entirely anonymous which makes it feel that much more legitimate. I love to see chefs bring their trademark dish- the dish they are most proud of- and go head-to-head against Bobby Flay. Spoiler alert: Bobby Flay usually wins, but that makes it so much sweeter when the opponent finally comes out on top.

The other night, we were watching an episode where the opponent brought their trademark dish- Beef Stroganoff. I had forgotten about Beef Stroganoff and how much I loved it as a kid. It was never very fancy- beef in a mushroom sauce- probably made with Cream of Mushroom or the like, some salty beef stock, and tangy sour cream- all served atop egg noodles. I can still remember slurping those egg noodles. In the Beat Bobby Flay episode, porcini mushrooms and a medley of other wild mushrooms were used, the egg fettuccine was homemade, creme fraiche replaced the sour cream, and the beef? Both Bobby and his opponent used filet mignon. Very fancy, indeed.

I suddenly got a craving for Beef Stroganoff after watching that show, but I only had mushrooms on hand. I had made a note a while back to try Sam's beautiful Creamy Miso Mushrooms on her blog, Drizzle and Dip, and I thought it would be a good starting point to get a mushroom-based stroganoff. Mushrooms would provide meatiness and miso would help get that salty richness that I wanted to mimic. Like her, I serve this on toast, but I made a few changes to lighten up the dish and give that slight tang of a stroganoff. I use thick Greek yogurt to mimic the sour cream since I did not have any in the refrigerator, and parsley and chives at the end adds a bright and fresh note. I add in some navy beans for extra bulk and a little texture, but you could leave them out or replace them with chickpeas.

Eat as is or top with an egg like Sam. Or serve the mixture atop little crostini for a lovely appetizer. It would be perfect for this holiday season. I will still have to make real Beef Stroganoff soon, but this most definitely satisfied my craving for that classic, rich, comforting dish.

Miso Mushroom Stroganoff Toast

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 pound mushrooms, stems removed and caps thinly sliced (I used a mix of cremini and shiitake)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup canned navy beans, drained
3 1/2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon miso paste
3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt (I used 2 %)
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
salt and pepper to taste
Slices of your favorite hearty bread, toasted (I used a seeded multi-grain)

Melt butter over medium heat. When butter begins to foam, add mushrooms, stir to coat, and allow to cook until golden and tender, about 8-10 minutes. Try not to stir the mushrooms too much to get a nice color on them. Add the garlic cloves and navy beans and cook another minute more.

In a small bowl, mix together the water and the miso paste. Add to skillet, scraping any bits from the bottom of the skillet, and allow to cook until some of the liquid has evaporated and mixture has thickened. Remove from heat, swirl in Greek yogurt, herbs, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve atop toast. Enjoy! Makes enough to top 3-4 large pieces of toast.

Brown Rice and Sweet Onions with Rosemary Shiitakes and Taleggio Cheese

This is so comforting, so fall. Mushrooms, taleggio, and hazelnuts give the dish a rich umami flavor, and lemon zest and parsley brighten it up. The onions offer just that sweetness and curl around your fork like noodles as you dig in.  If you have never had taleggio, it is quite a funky cheese. It has a very earthy flavor, sometimes described as barnyardy, and is a bit chewy, but melts beautifully.

This dish comes together easily. Cook some rice while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Pile it all on top of the rice and broil just until the cheese gets oozy.

Brown Rice and Sweet Onions with Shiitakes and Taleggio Cheese

1 cup brown basmati rice
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 lb. shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
1 15.5 ounce can chickpeas or 1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1 large yellow onion, sliced in half, and thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 garlic cloves, chopped
6 ounces taleggio cheese, chopped
1/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted and papery skins removed**
1/2 lemon, zested
handful of fresh parsley, chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Cook brown rice. Add water and rice to pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 45 minutes. Remove from heat, and allow to rest, covered, for about 10 minutes.

Crisp onions. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and some salt and cook over medium heat until they are crispy on the edges and softened but not completely caramelized, about 10-12 minutes.

Saute mushrooms. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat in large oven-proof skillet, such as a cast-iron skillet. Add mushrooms, sprinkle with salt and black pepper, and allow to cook until mushrooms soften, about 8-10 minutes. Add chickpeas, garlic, and rosemary, and cook 2 minutes or until fragrant and chickpeas are warmed. Stir in 2 teaspoons vinegar and immediately remove from heat.

Turn on broiler. Mix rice directly into mushroom mixture, and level. Spread crisped onions over top. Cube taleggio cheese and mix with parsley and hazelnuts until cheese is coated with herbs and nuts. Sprinkle rice with cubes of cheese. Broil for 3-5 minutes or just until cheese gets melty. Remove from oven and sprinkle with lemon zest. Enjoy! Serves 4.

**To toast hazelnuts: Toast at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-10 minutes or until skins are starting to peel off and nuts become golden. Place in a kitchen towel to run off as much of the papery skin as possible.

Buckwheat Crepes with Mushroom and Chard Filling

Crepes are such a romantic food. My first encounter with them was on a trip to Barcelona when I was studying abroad after high school. They were selling them at a little cart at the beach, and my friends insisted I try one. Filled with nothing but Nutella, they were enormous. And they were heavenly. Thin and delicate, yet sturdy enough to hold the chocolatey hazelnut spread within it. I loved the crispy little edges, too. We sat on the dock eating them, allowing our feet to dangle over the edge, barely tickling the Mediterranean. I was determined to learn how to make crepes before leaving Barcelona and enrolled in a culinary class with some friends. Our instructor decided to teach us how to flip them in the pan with a swift flick of the wrist, and my all-too-eager friend jumped at the challenge. The next thing we knew, we had a buttery crepe stuck to the newly painted ceiling of our culinary instructor's apartment. It eventually fell, but not without leaving a perfect grease circle in its wake. Oops.

I have had quite a few crepes since then, but my favorite has been from the French inspired Cafe L'Aube here in Philadelphia that serves a beautiful buckwheat crepe with ham, egg, and Emmentaler cheese. The buckwheat gives the crepe an earthiness and robustness that I love. I was inspired to try my own buckwheat crepe at home, relying on a few tips from my crepe-making lesson in Barcelona to create ever so thin pancakes with crispy edges. I branched out with the filing too, incorporating spring vegetables and a fresh local goat's milk cheese. I served a medium-boiled egg alongside the crepe and found myself cutting pieces of egg and pieces of crepe to make the perfect little bite. A plate of these really made me feel like I was at a European cafe, if only temporarily.

A few things to make note of while you cook. For one, take the time to wash the chard and drain it well. You want to eliminate any grit and sand that so often sticks to chard leaves. I use goat cheese here because it offers a nice tang to the heavier, earthier vegetables, but just about any cheese would do, but be sure to mix it into the filling while it is hot so that it melts well. The batter can be made a day ahead, and stored in the refrigerator, and the cooked crepes can be frozen for up to a month with parchment paper slices in between to prevent sticking.

Buckwheat Crepes with Mushroom and Chard Filling

8 Buckwheat Crepes (see recipe below)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
1/2 pound chard leaves (stems removed**), washed, dried and sliced into 1/2 inch ribbons (about 6 cups)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh goat cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup pecorino romano for sprinkling, optional
4 hard-boiled eggs for serving, optional

Heat oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat until butter has melted. Add shallots and sweat for 2 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and allow to cook for 3-5 minutes or until mushrooms have released liquid and being to brown around the edges. Add the cleaned chard. Mix to combine and cook for 8 minutes or until chard has wilted. If there is a lot of liquid remaining in the pan and the chard and mushrooms are cooked, briefly drain it and return mixture to pan. Turn off the heat. While the mixture is hot, add the goat cheese and stir to combine. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper. Set aside.

Toast the walnuts. Place the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat and toast for 8-10 minutes, shaking often, or until walnuts are toasted. Add half of the toasted walnuts to the mushroom and chard mixture and stir to combine.

Set up your assembly station. Place one crepe on the surface, sprinkle with about 2-3 tablespoons of the vegetable and nut mixture. Roll up and place seam side down on a plate. Complete with the remaining filling and remaining crepes. Sprinkle with the remaining toasted walnuts, grated pecorino romano, if using, and serve with a hard-boiled egg. Enjoy! Serves 4 people. 

**You can use the stems to make my Pickled Chard Stems recipe for sprinkling on any grain salad or rice bowl.

Buckwheat Crepes

2 cups buckwheat flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided, for cooking

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender, except the 1-2 tablespoons of butter for cooking. Blend for 30-45 seconds or until smooth. Pour the mixture into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour or even overnight. Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before proceeding.

Heat a 10-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon of butter to the skillet, swirling to coat. I use a pastry brush to make sure the butter is evenly distributed. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the batter and pour it into the pan. Work quickly to swirl the batter all over the pan to create a thin even layer. The first and maybe even second crepe are usually far from perfect as you are still finding a rhythm and finding the right temperature. So do not give up! You can see my first failed attempt in the picture below. Cook the first side about 1 minute or until the edges of the crepe begin to pull away from the pan and then flip to cook the other side about 20 seconds. I use a spatula and my fingers to usually do this. When the crepe is done, move to a plate and continue with the rest of the batter, buttering the pan as necessary. I usually have to re-butter the pan every 2-3 crepes.

You can use the crepes immediately, stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, or the crepes can be stored in the freezer for about a month with a piece of parchment in between them to prevent sticking. If you want to melt more cheese on them, you can do so like you would a quesadilla. Place the crepe in a hot skillet, layer on the cheese or other fillings and wait for the cheese to melt. Remove it from the skillet, roll or fold, and enjoy! Make about 12-15 crepes, depending on how many you end up using as practice :)

Polenta Pizzas ai Funghi

Pi Day is just around the corner, and in celebration of the good ole 3.1415....I am making pizza! Or at least a dish reminiscent of one of our favorite pie's here in the city. I love mushrooms in nearly every form, but one of my favorite ways comes atop a pizza with a little garlic, some gooey, pungent cheese, and a fried egg at Nomad Roman in Philadelphia. There, they use shiitake mushrooms, two cheeses, and truffle oil. In this rendition, I use polenta as a base and top it with sauteed onion, garlic, and cremini mushrooms, two cheeses, and an oozy egg. The first cheese, the Comte, provides a sharp, nutty bite while the second washed rind Ameribella contributes an earthy sweetness. See the notes down below for other cheese substitutions. If you get the yolk just right, it oozes out and combines with the melted cheeses and mushrooms into sheer deliciousness.

The idea of using polenta as a pizza crust has been around for a while, but I really like it because it can be prepared the day before and because I love the coarse texture and pure corn flavor that it lends, especially to the mushroom topping here. You can find polenta in your local grocery store listed as polenta, coarse grits (not instant), or stone ground cornmeal. I used a stone ground yellow cornmeal that my mom boought me from the farmer's market in my hometown in North Carolina. Whatever you use, be sure to give ample time to let the polenta base cool and stiffen so that it makes a sturdy pizza crust for all of your toppings.

Polenta Pizzas ai Funghi

4 c. water
1 1/2 c. polenta, coarse grits, or stone ground cornmeal
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 t. garlic powder
2 t. minced fresh thyme, or 1 t. dried thyme
1 1/4 t. salt

2 T. olive oil
1 small yellow onion or half large yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. cremini mushrooms or a mix of cremini, shiitake, button, maitake mushrooms, sliced in 1/4 inch slices
1 c. grated Comte cheese *
3/4 c. cubed Ameribella cheese **
3 eggs, preferably local or free-range and organic
good quality balsamic vinegar, optional, for drizzling
freshly grated pecorino or parmiggiano-reggiano cheese, option, for sprinkling
salt and pepper to taste

Begin with the polenta crusts. In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Slowly whisk in the polenta, being sure to eliminate any lumps. Reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally until the polenta is cooked, about 25 minutes. The polenta may bubble up and pop during cooking so be careful. Remove from the heat after cooking, stir in 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, garlic powder, thyme, and salt. Set aside.

Prepare the pans for the crusts. For round crusts, line three 8 or 9-inch round cake pans with parchment. For a rectangular pizza, you can cover a baking sheet with parchment. For whatever method, scoop the polenta from the pot to the pan(s) and flatten into an even layer, about 1/4 inch thick. It helps to use a spatula or lightly wet your fingers for this part. Cover each crust with plastic wrap or parchment paper, ensuring that it sticks directly to the surface, and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour or preferably overnight to stiffen.

To prepare the topping, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add the finely chopped onion and saute for 8-10 minutes or until softened and a little brown around the edges. Add the minced garlic, saute for 30 seconds or until aromatic, and then add the sliced mushrooms. Sprinkle everything generously with salt, a little black pepper, and stir to combine. Saute for about 20 minutes or until the mushrooms release their liquid and begin to dry out again and become golden around the edges. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper. Remove from heat. This can be done the day before you plan to cook the pizzas.

To assemble and bake the pizzas, preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure that the baking rack is placed in the middle of the oven. Remove the polenta from the refrigerator while the oven preheats. Remove the plastic wrap or parchment from the surface and place the crusts in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until the top begins to dry out and become slightly golden. Remove from oven, and carefully flip the crusts over. I placed a piece of parchment on a baking sheet, placed the baking sheet parchment paper side down atop the polenta pans, and quickly inverted everything. The uncooked side of the polenta should now be facing up.

Return the crusts to the oven for another 20 minutes. In the meanwhile, grate the cheeses and get your mushrooms and eggs ready. When the crusts come out of the oven, turn the oven to broil (on high). Evenly distribute the cheeses, then the mushroom topping atop the crusts. Carefully crack an egg, if using, in the center of each pizza. Alternatively crack 3 eggs atop a large rectangular pizza. Return the pan to the oven and broil for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and the egg whites are cooked and yolks are just becoming firm on their outer surface. This step often depends on how strong your broil setting is, so keep an eye out on the egg, being careful not to burn the cheeses in the process. Remove the pizzas from the oven, drizzle lightly with a syrupy balsamic vinegar if it is available, and a dusting of pecorino or parmiggiano-reggiano. Serves 3-4 people.

* If you can't find Comte, you can substitute another firm, nutty cheese such as Gruyere (a bit stronger) or Emmental (a bit milder).
**If you can't find Ameribella, Taleggio is an excellent substitute. I just stumbled upon Ameribella, a pungent, slightly sweet washed-rind cheese from Jacobs and Brichford in Indiana at my local Di Bruno Bros. If you can find it, check it out because it is fantastic!