Toast with Avocado Butter, Mushrooms and Tomatoes
Recipe Type: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Author:
Serves: 2 (can be easily doubled)
This recipe takes a cue from the British, who love mushrooms and tomatoes for breakfast.
Ingredients
- 1 ripe avocado
- ½ lemon, juiced
- Salt and pepper
- 2 thick slices whole-grain bread, toasted
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 10 white button mushrooms, cut in quarters
- 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 teaspoons fresh tarragon, finely chopped
- 4 cage-free eggs
Instructions
- Smash avocado in a bowl, add lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Spread avocado butter on toast slices. Place on serving plates.
- Melt butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushroom quarters and sauté 8–10 minutes, until lightly browned. Add tomato halves and tarragon; cook until heated, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Poach eggs: Fill a skillet half full with water; bring to a gentle boil. Break each egg one at a time in a small dish and carefully tip into skillet. Simmer uncovered for 3–5 minutes, until whites are completely set. Remove each egg with a slotted spoon.
- Spoon mushrooms and tomatoes over the toast. Top with eggs, season with salt and pepper, and serve right away.
Notes:
TIP: You can also cook eggs in a poaching pan. Be sure to coat each egg cup with butter before cooking. Bring water to boil in the pan, and cook eggs as desired (3–4 minutes for a runny yolk).
Mushroom, Celery and Pear Salad with Maple Dressing
Author:
Serves: 4
Sharp celery, sweet pears and maple syrup bring out the richness in portobello mushrooms.
Ingredients
- 3 portobello mushrooms; scrape out gills with a spoon, and slice thinly
- 2 celery stalks, cut into thirds and then lengthwise into batons
- 1 pear, cored and thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons walnuts, broken into large pieces
- 8–10 leaves butter lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place mushrooms, celery, pear slices, walnuts and lettuce in a bowl. Whisk cider vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Pour over the salad. Toss and serve.
Shiitake Dumplings
Author:
Serves: 14-16 dumplings
These small-plate appetizers are better than takeout.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
- 4 ounces lean ground chicken
- 6 ounces (about 1 3/4 cups) shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
- 3 green onions
- ¼ cup Italian flat-leaf parsley
- 1-inch knob fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium tamari
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 12 small wonton wrappers
- Water for brushing
Sauce:
- 5 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium tamari
- ¼ teaspoon tamarind sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Make sauce: Stir sweet chili sauce, tamari and tamarind in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a nonstick skillet. Add chicken and sauté until browned. Remove from the pan.
- Place mushrooms, green onions, parsley and ginger in a food processor. Pulse until finely minced.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the same skillet. Add mushroom mixture and sauté over medium-high heat until all liquid is absorbed and mushrooms are browned.
- Transfer to a bowl. Add tamari and sesame oil. Combine well.
- Place wonton wrapper on a cutting board. Spoon a teaspoon of filling on the top portion. Brush water on the lower half. Fold over to form a loose triangle. Set aside on wax or parchment paper. Repeat.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add about a half-inch of water and bring to a boil.
- Gently place dumplings in the water (don’t crowd the pan), and steam for about 1 minute each. Remove from pan and serve with sauce.
Porcini Pork Medallions with Apples
Author:
Serves: 2-4
Dried porcini lends a deep, rich flavor to pork and pairs well with sweet apples.
Ingredients
- 1/2 ounce (about ½ cup) dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 boneless ¾-inch pork loin chops
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ onion, thinly sliced
- 2 apples; peeled, cored and thinly sliced
- 16 button mushrooms, cut in half
- 2 cups white wine or chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon coarse ground mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place dried porcini in a coffee grinder and pulverize into a fine powder. Place in a small bowl, add poultry seasoning and kosher salt, and stir well. Set aside 1 teaspoon for mushroom-apple sauce.
- Coat pork chops with porcini powder mixture and press into the meat.
- Heat medium skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil. Brown pork until nearly done, 4 minutes each side. Remove from skillet to a plate; cover with foil to keep warm.
- In the same skillet, add butter and melt over medium-high heat. Add onions, apples and mushrooms and sauté until soft and golden.
- Add 1 teaspoon porcini seasoning, wine (or stock) and mustard. Raise heat to medium high. Cook until the sauce concentrates down to 1 cup.
- Return pork to the pan. Heat through. Taste the sauce; add salt and pepper if desired.
Chanterelle Sandies with Truffle Salt
Author: Serves: about 24 cookies
Mushrooms for dessert? Absolutely. Chanterelles add a unique sweetness, and truffle salt makes them addictively good.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened1 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or maple extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose organic flour
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup pecans, ground in a food processor
- 1/4 cup (3/4 ounces) dried chanterelle mushrooms, ground to a powder in a coffee grinder
- Parchment or wax paper
- 1 teaspoon truffle salt
Instructions
- Cream butter and confectioners sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and stir until well combined.
- Blend flour, almond flour, salt, ground pecans and mushroom powder in a small bowl.
- Slowly add dry ingredients to butter and sugar. Stir until mixed through. Do not overbeat.
- Tear off a 2-foot piece of parchment or wax paper. Spoon cookie dough into a long 3-inch rectangle width-wise on the paper near the side closest to you.
- Wrap the paper around the dough, and roll away from you to form a cylinder. Twist the ends to close.
- Place dough in the freezer for 20–30 minutes.
- When dough is firm, remove paper and cut dough into ¼-inch rounds.
- Place cookies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet; sprinkle each cookie with truffle salt.
- Bake at 350˚ for 18–20 minutes, until edges are lightly browned.
Tip:
What is the best way to store mushrooms—paper bag, in their container or in a plastic bag? Tip Busters answered it for us. Wrap mushrooms in a paper towel, and place in a perforated plastic bag. Why? Mushrooms go bad three different ways: too dry, too wet, or by turning color. It’s all about keeping the moisture inside the mushrooms constant and not letting new moisture in.
Tip:
Should you wash mushrooms? Cultivated button, portobello and cremini mushrooms can handle a light washing as long as they are quickly dried. Fresh wild mushrooms like shiitake and chanterelles go limp if washed; instead, wipe gently with a paper towel. Dried mushrooms do not need to be washed.
Tip:
Mushrooms contain a lot of water, so to get a nice brown color, cook them over medium-high to high heat. Over a low burner, they will stew in their own liquid. And, because they are little sponges, mushrooms will easily absorb cooking oil, so you may need to add a little extra to the pan.