For the mushroom lovers . . .
July 2, 2008
Did you happen to get morels in the hills this year? Well, if you are like me, you can never get as many as you want. But maybe you have more in your cupboards, dried and ready to get cooked into something fabulous. Whatever the case may be, fresh or dried, this mushroom pie recipe will treat you right. It also takes care of getting your greens in, in abundance!
First, soak your chopped mushrooms (about 1 1/2 cups worth) in some red wine and water. For the crust: (of course we recommend you make this quick idea yourself, but store-bought is also an option)
Melt 2 Tblspoons of butter in a skillet. Add 3/4 lb fresh, minced spinach (or other cooking greens), some salt, and saute quickly until the spinach is limp. Remove from the heat and add 3/4 cup white flour, 3/4 cup wheat germ or fine bread crumbs and some dashes of nutmeg. Mix well. Pat into an oiled 9- nor 10-inch pie pan. Prebake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes. (No need to cool before adding the following filling). Easiest crust ever!
Melt 1 Tblspoon butter in a skillet. Add 1 cup minced onion, cook until it starts to soften. Add the drained mushrooms and 2 Tblspoons lemon juice and cook for several minutes at medium heat. Sprinkle in 3 Tblspoons white flour, 2 tsp dry mustard, 1 oz. chopped basil (or 1 tsp dried), a sprig of fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried), stirring all the while. Cook another minute, then set aside.
Beat together one egg, 1 cup firm yogurt (or 1 cup ricotta), black pepper, 3/4 cup grated cheese (Cheddar, Swiss, etc.), and 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley (optional). Beat in the mushroom sauce. Pour the filling into the prebaked crust. Top with extra cheese, and dust with paprika. Bake for 30 minutes and let cool 10 minutes before cutting. Serve hot or warm.
This recipe comes from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, by Molly Katzen, a standard cookbook in my household growing up.
Pesto Perfecto!
July 2, 2008
Sometimes it’s hard to get variety into our diets. I often feel like I forget to cook with beans. I took some inspiration from Fair Mtn. Farm’s (Ketchum Market) pesto sauces though, and created a tasty side dish one night. Start with some of Mike Heath’s (M & M Organics – Ketchum and Hailey Markets) tiny white beans.
Cook up 1 cup of dry beans. Start by soaking them for most of a day, or you can cover them with about an extra inch of water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and cover the pan for an hour. After soaking or doing the pre-boil, rinse the beans well, put back into your pot and cook for about an hour and a half. Make sure to put a fair amount of water in – as the Moosewood Cookbook states, cooking beans is hardly ever a very specific science. Watch them and start with more water than you think.
When the beans are cooked, and you have drained them, stir in a whole jar of pesto (any kind will do!), some salt and pepper, several Tablespoons of Olive oil, and several Tablespoons of Rice Vinegar. You’ll end up with a side bean dish that could second as a Tapas dish too.
For Pesto sauce ideas, keep the basics in mind: a flavorful green (such as basil, cilantro or even parsley if you like some punch), salt, pepper, olive oil, good hard cheese (I adore exquisite Parmesan). You’ll need a fair amount of Olive oil to get the consistency more liquid-like.
