Mushrooms and minced red onion cook in an iron skillet. (Cindy Sutter Camera Food Editor)
I'm not ready to go all squash yet. I don't give myself over to butternut squash, celeriac and all things fall and winter until a killing frost has made other local options unavailable. There are still tomatoes in my garden, for heaven's sake.
But, when the temperature dips, I do have a hankering for something that reminds me that winter is coming. That something would be mushrooms. Some are lucky enough to have generous foraging mycologists as friends. They are feasting right about now. The rest of us buy mushrooms at the farmers' market or at grocery and natural food stores.
Even with those limitations, you can't go wrong with fungi. At first I considered making a brothy mushroom soup, then a creamy mushroom soup. Then I happened on a recipe called Mushroom Ambrosia with Miso in "The Splendid Table's: How to Eat for Supper." (By the way, if you like to read, as well as cook fro
m cookbooks, I highly recommend this one.) The recipe is simple enough: you saute mushrooms and chopped onions, adding a heaping tablespoon of miso at the end. Simple as it is, it's totally delicious -- the miso adding a hefty dose of umami to the already savory mushrooms.
I wasn't sure I could make a meal out of mushrooms only, so I decided to serve them on a large crouton -- sliced ciabatta spread with butter and finely minced garlic (a Microplane is great for this) and topped with a good sprinkling of Parmigiano Regianno. I toasted these at about 300 degrees for 30 minutes until they were crisp. I try not to make the croutons early, because they're so addictive, I'm tempted to eat them before they get to the table. If I had a bar, these would be my signature snack.
For the mushrooms, I used a combination of cremini, shiitake and maitake. The onions were those pungent Colorado-grown red onions that have so much flavor. I sauteed the mushrooms and onions as directed, although I used about half as much butter as the recipe called for. The miso is what makes the dish, with its richness and a great savory flavor. I had thought of trying a gremolata sprinkled on top to offer a little brightness. But the rich flavor of the mushrooms was so tasty that I didn't want to brighten it. If you'd like to add protein to the dish, tempeh, which has a complementary earthy taste, would be a good choice.
Mushrooms done, I needed something else deep and foresty. I had a couple of kale plants of different varieties in the back of my garden that had achieved giant status. To tame those tough leaves, I julienned them and with very little oil sauteed -- almost pan-roasted -- them with red onions in a skillet. I used only a little salt, letting them develop brown spots on the bottom before turning. I oven-roasted a cup or so of red grapes that had seen better days at 400 degrees and added them to the cooked greens along with some shakes of Tabasco and a tablespoon or so of minced preserved lemon. For a similar flavor profile, saute the greens and onions, add golden raisins you have plumped in hot water, a squeeze of lemon and lemon zest. The earthy greens, brightened with lemon and grapes make a nice counterpoint to the mushrooms.
The next day when it warmed up, I had corn on the cob, a tomato salad with blue cheese and leftover greens. I can eat greens any time of the year.
Mushroom Ambrosia with Miso
3 tablespoons butter
1 pound mixed mushrooms (such as white button, cremini and shiitake) trimmed, washed, dried and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1/2 medium onion, minced
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper
1 heaping tablespoon miso (white or light-colored preferred)
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives (garnish)
Directions: In a straight-sided, 12-inch saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat, taking care not to burn it. Add the mushrooms and the onion, season with salt and pepper, and increase the heat to medium high.
Saute the mushrooms until they begin to throw off their liquid and start to brown (don't worry if the pan looks dry when they start to cook), 6 to 7 minutes.
Mix the miso in the water with a fork or whisk. It will not dissolve fully; some small chunks are fine.
When the mushrooms are lightly browned and all of their moisture has evaporated, add the miso water and continue to cook until all the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Taste for seasoning and serve the mushrooms with a scattering of chopped chives.
Source: "The Splendid Table's: How to Eat Supper"
