The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook - Kim O'Donnel [10]
Tara’s Mushroom Ragout ★ Broccoli Pick-Up Sticks
TARA’S MUSHROOM RAGOUT
No mushrooms for me. Unfortunately, that’s the rule, unless I want to throw caution the wind and always carry an EpiPen. Allergies aside, I couldn’t have a meatless cookbook without mushrooms, among the “meatiest” plants for vegetarians. I sought counsel from fungi-loving friends and writers willing to both develop and test ’shroom-centric recipes for the collection. The first out of the gate comes from West Coast writer Tara Austen Weaver, a lifelong vegetarian who dabbled in meat for a while; she chronicles her pendulum-swinging adventures in The Butcher and the Vegetarian: One Woman’s Romp Through a World of Men, Meat, and Moral Crisis.
INGREDIENTS
2 pounds mixed mushrooms
(button, cremini, and/or
shiitake)
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 medium-size leeks, washed
thoroughly, root and dark
green tops removed, cut
lengthwise in quarters, and
sliced thinly (about 3 cups)
½ cup carrots, minced finely
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1¼ teaspoons salt
½ cup dry white wine
¼ cup vegetable stock or water
¼ cup heavy cream
Ground black pepper
Cooked rice or pasta, to serve
(1 to 1½ cups per person)
HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:
Clean the mushrooms: Mushrooms easily get waterlogged, so if you use water, rinse quickly and lightly. Otherwise, use a soft-bristle brush or dish towel to remove any dirt.
Cut the mushrooms in half and then slice into ¼-inch pieces (Tara uses an egg slicer for this). Set the mushrooms aside.
In a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the butter and oil. Once the butter has melted and the mixture has warmed, add the leeks, carrots, and whole garlic cloves. Add the salt and sauté until the leeks and carrots are soft, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and wine. Cook, stirring regularly, for 5 minutes, as the wine reduces. Add the stock, lower the heat to medium, and continue to cook until the mushrooms soften, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the cream and cook for another 5 minutes. By this time, the garlic cloves should be soft enough to mash coarsely into the wine cream sauce. The flavor will have mellowed, so don’t worry about a strong garlic taste (you can actually leave them whole if you like).
Taste; add pepper and additional salt to taste.
Serve over rice or pasta. This is especially wonderful over fresh, homemade pasta cut into 1-inch-wide ribbons.
Makes 4 servings
BROCCOLI PICK-UP STICKS
Did you grow up on frozen veg in easy-breezy boil pouches, too? I had my first taste of fresh broccoli when I was eighteen—and had no idea what I had been missing! Here’s an irresistible broccoli trick to change your life forever. Broccoli florets get slathered with a zesty seasoning mix of fresh ginger, garlic, and a smidge of cayenne for heat. Into a hot oven they go and roast for about 10 minutes, plenty of time to check e-mail or contemplate the meaning of life. Like this idea but prefer cauliflower to brocc? Head over to page 204 in the Kitchen Tricks section for those details.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound broccoli, separated into
florets
1 (2 x 1-inch) piece fresh ginger,
peeled and minced
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon salt, plus more to
taste
¼ teaspoon cayenne or smoked
paprika
3 tablespoons olive oil
HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the broccoli, ginger, garlic, salt, cayenne, and olive oil. With your hands, mix until the broccoli is well coated. The broccoli should glisten with oil; if it seems dry, feel free to add more oil. Taste a floret for salt and add more if needed. Transfer the broccoli to a baking tray and place in the oven.
Roast until fork tender, 15 to 16 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 4 side-dish servings
ROCKET LASAGNA
Rocket is the Brit word