Shiitake Mushroom and Green Pea Ragout with Chickpea Miso

 

 



Despite the calendar's proclamation of spring, my winter coat has remained in frequent rotation for most of this chilly Northeast April, and I've been craving hearty comfort foods on the regular: Mr Yogi's Hatch green chili stew has saved us several times, along with brothy soups, pots of spicy lentil dal, and lots of roasted roots.

I always find the between-season flux particularly challenging, especially from the immunity perspective. So along with my must-have morning lemon-ginger elixir and a few targeted supplements (I've noticed big improvements the last few months with zinc, D3, and B complex), I've been relying on immune-boosting mushrooms and miso to get me through in one piece. Rich in nutrients, these foods also help cleanse the body’s systems and support healthy digestion and immune function.

During a recent recipe testing session I came up with one of my favorite mushroom dishes to date: a creamy shiitake + crimini ragout that's savory and satisfying, punctuated with the verdant sweetness of green peas and herbal fragrance of fresh thyme. Finishing the ragout with a touch of butter lends an extra luxurious quality to the rich, miso-based sauce, but the dish can also be made completely dairy-free by leaving it out.

Serve the ragout alone as a side dish or as a main course with polenta, pasta, or a whole grain such as brown rice or quinoa. I think it would also make a satisfying gravy over a plant-based protein such as seared tempeh or grilled tofu.

Shiitake Mushroom and Green Pea Ragout with Chickpea Miso

Adapted from Saveur Magazine’s Wild Mushroom Ragout
Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms

1/2 pound fresh crimini mushrooms
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
3/4 cup water or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons chickpea miso paste
1/2 cup shelled green peas (thawed, if frozen)
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Freshly ground black pepper

1.       Trim mushrooms and remove stems, reserving for another use (to make stock, etc). Slice caps into ½-inch strips.

2.       Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook until tender, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.       Whisk together water (or stock) and miso paste in a bowl until miso is completely dissolved.

4.       Add mushrooms to skillet and cook until they release their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add miso mixture, peas, and thyme to skillet. Simmer for 5 minutes, allowing the liquid to thicken. Stir in butter and parsley.

5.       Season with black pepper, to taste.

Chocolate Chia Pudding Inspired by Hu Kitchen

A couple of weeks ago I had lunch with a friend (Hi, Amy!) at Hu Kitchen. The two of us started working together a few months ago, only to discover that we are both Jersey girls who now live just a few blocks from each other in Manhattan, are getting married within a week of one another in May, practice yoga, and love talking about (and eating) food. Oh, and to top things off, I'm obsessed with Portlandia, and Fred Armisen lives IN. HER. BUILDING! She just needs to start a food blog (c'mon, everybody has one...), and our doppelgangerism will be complete.

Anyway, one fine March Friday Amy and I hopped the subway from midtown to Union Square to check out this new(ish) food spot called Hu. I love the mission of this place: to be a resource for real, high-quality, unprocessed food that's actually good for humans to eat (they're somewhat Paleo-minded in that they eschew refined sugars and grains). We ordered some entrees and sides, and all were pretty good (especially the miso kale salad), but I'll get right to the highlight of our meal, which was dessert: a rich, creamy and super-chocolatey chia pudding.

I usually label anything featuring chia seeds as health food, but this stuff was downright decadent. At first taste we both exclaimed in unison that it tasted just like chocolate frosting, so that's definitely saying something. Before we left, I scanned the pudding's ingredients label (it was in a grab-and-go container, thus bearing an ingredient lists -- so helpful for those tinkerers and re-creators among us). Lo and behold this delicious concoction contained simply coconut milk, coconut sugar, chia seeds, Valrhona cocoa powder, vanilla, and sea salt.

The keys to the richness of this pudding are using thick, creamy coconut milk and top-quality roasted cocoa powder, such as Valrhona or Scharffen Berger (I would avoid raw cacao powder here, as it is lighter and fruitier and can give off notes of alcohol). In my version I added ground cinnamon to help boost the chocolate flavor and subbed maple syrup for the coconut sugar (so I wouldn't need to blend the mixture to dissolve sugar granules).

Chia seeds are a polarizing topic; they seem to be one of those ingredients you either love or hate. There is indeed a 'slime factor' involved when working with chia, and that's not often a characteristic we appreciate in our food. But I admire the chia's thickening power, as well as its wealth of nutritional offerings (good source of omega 3 fatty acids, fiber, protein), and as I've worked with these little seeds in various recipes I've developed a fondness for them.

One thing I've found is that the longer chia seeds soak, the more pleasant (read: less slimy) the pudding's mouthfeel becomes. If the pudding sits for a short time (15 to 30 minutes) the slime factor is more pronounced; but once you get to the 12 + hour mark (I think 24 hours is ideal), the seeds become more fully hydrated and the pudding is not slimy at all, but rather thick, rich, and frosting-like. This is a great recipe to make in the evening to enjoy the next day; I tried it as breakfast, snack, and dessert (it's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it), and can attest that it fits the bill for each.

Chocolate Chia Pudding
Inspired by Hu Kitchen

Serves 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 12 to 24 hours (depending on your desired chia-soaking time)

1 can coconut milk (13.5 ounces)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup high-quality cocoa powder (such as Valrhona or Scharffen Berger)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup chia seeds
Fresh berries, toasted shredded coconut, chopped dark chocolate, and/or chopped toasted nuts (hazelnuts are particularly good), for garnish

1. Whisk the coconut milk, maple syrup, cocoa powder, cinnamon, vanilla, and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Taste and add more maple syrup and/or cocoa powder until the levels of chocolatey-ness and sweetness are to your liking.

2. Whisk in chia seeds.

3. Let mixture sit for 15 minutes, then whisk again to break up any lumps (this will help ensure that the chia seeds are evenly distributed throughout the mixture). Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours before serving.

4. When ready to serve, stir pudding until smooth and transfer to small bowls or ramekins. Garnish with berries, toasted coconut, dark chocolate shavings, and/or chopped nuts. 

Red Rice with Roasted Fennel + Apricots

Enabled by the long stretches of watchful waiting that sourdough baking requires (the Tartine Bread method - try it!), I recently undertook a big pantry cleanout. Every box, bag, packet, and jar came out of the cabinets and was accordingly inspected, consolidated, and repackaged; the works. When all was said and done, I had transferred all of the grains and legumes to glass jars, labelled them (use blue painters' tape - it comes off easily when it's time to change things up again) and upgraded them from their cabinet banishment to our open kitchen cart, where I can easily see their status when menu planning or before I head out to the market.

With limited cabinet space in our kitchen, some of the more interesting items can get pushed to the back where I never, ever think to use them, so a re-org session is always a source of cooking inspiration. Lo and behold, among other lucky finds, my toils unearthed not one, not two, but three colorful varieties of rice that had been puchased with big plans in mind and promptly shoved in the back of a cabinet, utterly forgotten: forbidden black rice, purple sticky rice, and Himalayan red rice. And I'm happy to report that in the couple of weeks since the pantry re-do, all three have seen some quality stove time, to very positive review from my resident food critic, mr. yogi (boys need carbs, apparently? I dunno, learning as I go along ;)

For the red rice, I came upon yet another promising preparation from Chef Yotam (aka Ottolenghi) for a red rice and quinoa salad by way of 101 Cookbooks. As it turned out I had nearly all the ingredients -- or suitable substitutes -- at home (minus the quinoa, which I decided to leave out so the red rice would be the starring grain). So it was the one to guide me.

I soaked the rice during the day while I was at work, which shaves down the cooking time a bit, and when I arrived home, roasted off some thinly sliced fennel and red onion while the rice cooked. The red rice is beautiful, with a satisfying chew and nutty flavor: a bit fruitier and more complex than the brown rice I usually cook with. Finished with a sweet and savory combination of dried apricots, walnuts, scallions, cilantro, and a bright, ginger-spiked citrus vinaigrette, this is simple, whole grain cooking at its best.

Red Rice with Roasted Fennel, Red Onion and Apricots
Inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi's Red Rice and Quinoa

Serve as an accompaniment to a protein, or over a heap of leafy greens for a lighter one-bowl meal.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

1 cup red rice, soaked for 6 to 8 hours in water to cover, rinsed and drained (see note)
1-1/4 cups water
1 fennel bulb (about 1/2 pound), thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
2 tablespoons + 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (divided)
grated zest + juice of 1 lemon
1 small garlic clove, grated or crushed (about 1 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes (to taste)
1/2 cup dried apricots, sliced
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
2 to 3 scallions, thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup)
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 400F.

1. Combine rice and water in a medium pot. Add a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cover pot. Cook until water is absorbed and rice is tender but not mushy, 35 to 40 minutes. Gently fluff rice with a fork and keep covered until ready to use.

2. Combine fennel, onion, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and a big pinch of salt in a large bowl. Toss to coat. Transfer vegetables to a sheet tray and roast at 400F until tender and caramelized around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.

3. Whisk together remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, and chile flakes in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

4. Transfer rice and fennel-onion mixture to bowl with vinaigrette. Add apricots, walnuts, scallions, and cilantro; toss to combine. Adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper, if needed. Serve warm.

Note: Soaking the rice shortens cooking time and, in general, increases the digestibility of whole grains, as well as making the minerals they contain easier to absorb. If you do not have time for a soak, give the rice a good rinse in cold water and cook 5 to 10 minutes longer than noted in step 1, above.