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Food
Mushroom medleys
An ordinary little button mushroom, known as a common cultivated mushroom, packs enough flavor to give an alluring musky taste to a dish. Mushrooms are deceptive that way. You add a few to the pot, and you get loads of flavor in return. That and a texture that can be downright meaty make mushrooms one of the most interesting ingredients in the larder. Foragers who know this comb our woodlands in the fall to collect and dry mushrooms for the winter months. In World War II, regions of Europe relied on foraging fungi during food shortages. Today, even the mushrooms that we think of as "wild" - shiitakes and criminis, for instance - have been raised on a farm somewhere. That doesn't mean that cultivation removes their good flavor. They're not exotic-tasting the way foraged mushrooms are, but take out a skillet and saute some shiitakes, criminis, oyster mushrooms, and a handful of button mushrooms, and you'll be surprised at the woodsy aroma and taste. This taste becomes more complex when you add French cepes or Italian porcini, both dried, now available at well-stocked supermarkets. An ounce of one of these dried mushrooms - you need very little, because drying intensifies the taste - injects the dish with even more intriguing tree-root flavor. MUSHROOM SOUP 1 ounce dried cepe mushrooms In a small bowl, mix the dried cepes with the boiling water and set the bowl aside for 30 minutes. Remove the mushrooms. Strain the liquid through a paper coffee filter and set it aside. In a heavy-based saucepan, melt the butter and cook the onions and shallot over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms, including the cepes, and salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms release their liquid. Turn up the heat and cook until the liquid evaporates. With a spoon, stir in the flour and stir over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the port and reserved mushroom liquid. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Pour in the chicken stock and thyme. Bring the soup to a boil, turn the heat to low, and simmer it for 30 minutes. Stir in the parsley and taste for seasoning. Set the oven at 300 degrees. Place the bread slices on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Let them dry for 10 to 20 minutes or until they are crusty. Set the cheese on the bread and broil the toasts until the cheese is bubbling. Watch the toasts carefully so they don't burn. Place a cheese toast in each soup bowl. Ladle the soup on top and serve at once. SERVES 4 MUSHROOM PATE 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms In a bowl, combine the porcini mushrooms with enough boiling water to cover them. Let them soak for 30 minutes. Drain them, reserving the liquid. Strain the liquid through a paper coffee filter. Add the mushroom liquid to the vegetable broth. You will have 1 1/2 to 2 cups of broth. Chop the porcini mushrooms. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil, and when it is hot, melt the butter. Add the shallots and onions and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the fresh mushrooms and porcini, thyme, cayenne, and salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, while the mushrooms release their liquid and it begins to evaporate. Stir more frequently as the mushrooms begin to color. Pour in the port and continue cooking until that evaporates as well. Add the wine and cook it in the same way, until the pan is dry. Add the torn bread and 1 cup of the vegetable broth. Lower the heat and continue stirring as the bread softens and absorbs the liquid. Add a little more broth if the bread seems dry. The mixture should be thick but moist. Remove the mushroom mixture from the heat and let it cool for 15 minutes. Puree it through the medium blade of a food mill set over a bowl. (If you want a less chunky texture, you can work it carefully in a food processor, pulsing it slowly.) Pack the pate into a terrine mold or mound it in a bowl. Garnish with parsley sprigs and refrigerate for several hours before serving. MAKES 3 CUPS OR ENOUGH TO SERVE 12 MUSHROOM LASAGNA In keeping with traditional lasagnas, this vegetarian dish is layered with a ricotta-Parmesan mixture and with a mushroom sauce. Fresh lasagna sheets are available in all shops where other pastas are made by hand. It will come in thin sheets that look a lot like old-fashioned ladies' stockings. They make a fine dish, so they're worth searching for. Ricotta: 2 cups low-fat ricotta cheese In a bowl with a wooden spoon, beat the ricotta until it is light. Add the Parmesan cheese, eggs, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper. Set the mixture aside. Sauce and noodles: 2 tablespoons butter In a large heavy-based skillet, melt the butter and cook the onion over medium heat for 8 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook them, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until they release their liquid. Continue cooking until the liquid evaporates. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the milk gradually, stirring constantly, until all the milk is added and the mixture forms a sauce. Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Set the sauce aside to cool. Set the oven at 375 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Bring a large pan of water to a boil, add plenty of salt, and cook the fresh lasagna noodles for 4 minutes (dried for 7 minutes) or until they are tender but still have some bite. Drain the noodles and transfer them to a large bowl of cold water. To assemble the dish: Spoon one-third of the mushroom sauce into the baking dish. Use a clean kitchen towel to pat the noodles dry. Add one-third of the noodles, half the ricotta mixture, and half the fontina. Continue layering, ending with noodles. Brush the noodles with oil. Transfer the lasagna to the hot oven and bake it for 1 hour or until the juices are bubbling at the edges and the top is golden brown and crusty. Remove the dish from the oven. Let the lasagna settle for 5 minutes, then cut into squares. SERVES 8 |
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