Parmesan Dutch Baby with Creamy Mushrooms

Lately I’ve been working my way through a cookbook I’ve had for several years, Smitten Kitchen Every Day. The Vegetarian Mains section has won my heart (and appetite). Every recipe I’ve made has been delicious and weeknight doable. Yay!

The book even includes a recipe that makes two (and only two) large oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies. You can satisfy your big cookie craving without having to fight not to keep eating cookie after cookie, which is what usually happens when I bake.

Last summer Dutch baby pancake recipes seemed to be everywhere, and I finally tried a breakfast version. Wow! The special treat that pancakes bring, but without the hands-on stove-top flipping they require. Plus, they were so darned cool looking with their rumpled one pan presentation. 

A Dutch baby isn’t going to feed a crowd but is plenty for two with a tossed salad or four as a side dish with a main course. This recipe is a nuanced, hearty concoction that won’t leave you feeling weighed down. I sub homemade cashew cream for the called-for heavy cream; use whichever you prefer—I’m not sure you’d be able to tell the difference. Enjoy!

• Servings: 2-4
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Slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen Every Day by Deb Perelman

Creamy Mushrooms:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium shallot, minced

8 ounces cremini mushrooms, cleaned and chopped small

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon dry white wine or dry vermouth (I used vermouth)

3 tablespoons heavy cream or cashew cream (cashew cream recipe can be found as part of this recipe)

Dutch Baby:
4 large eggs, room temperature

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup milk, room temperature (I’ve made this with both skim and whole milk and really couldn’t tell the difference)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes

3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives or parsley, for garnish

Place a 10- or 12-inch cast iron pan (or other similar sized ovenproof skillet) in your oven and preheat it to 425 degrees F.

To make the creamy mushrooms, heat a large skillet or sauté pan over medium heat and add the butter and olive oil. Once the butter is melted, add the shallot, and cook until soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste, and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, until mushrooms have released their liquid and it has cooked off.

Add the wine, reduce the heat to medium-low, scrape up any brown bits and cook off the wine, which will take a minute or two. Stir in the cream, and as soon as it simmers, which will be almost immediately, remove from heat. You’ll be briefly heating this up again so it’s warm when you top the Dutch baby with it.

To make the Dutch baby, in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, salt, and pepper until well combined. Add the flour and whisk until mostly smooth, then whisk in the milk. It’s okay if there are lumps.

Remove the hot skillet from the oven (use thick hot pads!) and add the three tablespoons of cubed butter. Swirl it around in the pan until it melts. Pour the batter into the pan and, carefully, return the pan to the oven. Cook for 15 minutes when the pancake should be brown in places and rumpled. Sprinkle with Parmesan and return it to the oven for a minute or two to melt the cheese. During the last few minutes of the Dutch baby cooking, heat the mushrooms over medium-low heat so they are warm.

Remove the pancake from oven and spoon the creamy mushrooms over it. Garnish with chives or parsley and cut into wedges. Serves 2 as a main dish with a tossed salad or 4 as a side dish with a main course.

Secret Ingredient Spinach-Artichoke Dip

When grocery shopping for food to take on our most recent cabin trip, I impulsively grabbed a bottle of Original Grlk Sauce, an amazing condiment I first discovered at an indoor winter market in NE Minneapolis where I sampled the original flavor and was immediately in love!

Creamy, fluffy, garlicy goodness in a plastic bottle. Locally made (in St. Paul, MN) with all healthy ingredients (it’s also vegan, sugar-free, and gluten-free), I was sold! Back then I used my purchase mainly on sandwiches and in sandwich fillings and was very sad when that bottle was empty. The winter market was over, and my source was gone.

A year or so later, I was surprised to find the elusive condiment I had been craving in a grocery store. Hallelujah! I could now satisfy my hankering whenever it arose.

Fast forward to our cabin trip, on a stormy night with Lake Superior’s waves crashing loudly and the wind roaring, we needed a comfort-food snack. I had a bag of spinach, the beloved Grlk Sauce, parmesan cheese, and some scallions and was mad at myself for not grabbing that container of sour cream from the fridge at home when filling the cooler. But somehow the ingredients on-hand came together for a hot and bubbly snack—a perfect example of food always tasting better at the cabin.

Once back at home, I vowed to make this dip again, but with the additional ingredients I wished I had at the cabin and for sure including my new secret ingredient, Grlk. Then I forgot about it. That is, until watching the red-hot Minnesota Gopher’s football game on a sunny Saturday when, once again, the time was right for a comfort-food snack. After a little improvising, this is what I came up with, and I think it’s a winner, even if we’re not at the cabin! Enjoy!

By the way, Original Grlk Sauce, along with additional flavors, is available at a number of stores in the St. Paul-Minneapolis metro area and online here. It’s amazing!

• Servings: 4
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1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 large clove garlic, chopped

One 6-ounce bag baby spinach

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

One 14-ounce can artichoke hearts packed in water, drained and chopped

½ cup sour cream

¼ cup original Grlk sauce

1 ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (the Annie’s brand is vegetarian and delicious!)

A pinch of cayenne pepper, or more if you like things really spicy

3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese, divided

Sliced scallions, for garnish (optional—I forgot to use them today, but won’t next time)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 1.5-quart baking dish with cooking spray or coat it with a little olive oil.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add garlic and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add spinach, sprinkle with salt, stir, and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted and bright green. Stir in artichoke hearts.

In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, Original Grlk Sauce, Worcestershire, cayenne, and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in ½ cup of the parmesan. Add sour cream mixture to spinach mixture and stir to thoroughly combine.

Transfer dip to prepared baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes, then sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup parmesan. Bake another 10 minutes, then broil for a couple minutes to brown the top–watch carefully so it doesn’t burn.

Remove from oven, sprinkle with scallions, if using, and serve dip hot with crackers, toasted pita or naan, veggies, or tortilla chips. Makes about 4 servings.

 

Lobster Mushroom Pasta

Last weekend at the Stillwater Farmers’ Market, I picked up a couple varieties of mushrooms I hadn’t had before, lobster and chicken of the woods. A local forager harvested them from area forests and sold them at his stand, along with chanterelles. Joking around, I asked if he had lots of experience and knew what he was doing so we wouldn’t be poisoned. He laughed and said when people ask, he usually points to the lobster mushrooms and tells them that’s what they should buy if they want to off their husbands. Okay, that didn’t really make me feel any better.

Lobster, chanterelle, and chicken of the woods (l-r).

The amusing mushroom man explained that the lobster mushrooms had a seafood-like flavor and the chicken of the woods variety, covered with barbeque sauce and grilled, would taste just like chicken. Interesting. They were expensive too, about $20/pound, but I figured that was a lot cheaper than lobster.

Not really sure how to prepare my new-found treasures, I decided to just do a simple pasta dish with the lobster mushrooms. There were lots of lobster pasta recipes out there, so why not just sub lobster mushrooms? You can’t go wrong with shallots, garlic, butter and thyme, right? And white wine, half & half, and parmesan aren’t likely to mess up a dish either. It all came together wonderfully, with the promised seafood flavor a happy surprise.

If you happen upon these somewhat freaky-looking, neon reddish-orange beauties, either while foraging or at your local farmers’ market, try this recipe; I think you’ll really like it. Enjoy!

• Servings: 3-4
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2 tablespoons butter, divided

1 medium shallot, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 ounces lobster mushrooms, cleaned and cut into ½ inch chunks

1 teaspoon minced thyme leaves

A couple splashes dry white wine

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

A handful of baby greens (I used a bagged mixture of baby power greens from Trader Joe’s)

½ cup freshly grated parmesan or parmigiano reggiano

¼ cup half & half, cream, or whole milk

8 ounces whole wheat spaghetti, linguini or any long, thin pasta

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, generously salt the water, then cook pasta according to package directions. When done, reserve about ½ cup of the pasta water and then drain pasta and return it to pot. Cover and keep warm.

While the pasta is cooking, in a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and add the shallots and garlic. Cook until the shallots have softened, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and thyme and cook until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Add salt & pepper to taste. Increase heat to medium high and add the wine. Stir, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Cook until the wine has mostly cooked off.

Return heat on the pan to medium and add the second tablespoon of butter. Once it’s melted, add the greens. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens are wilted, but still bright green.

Add the mushroom mixture, cheese, and half & half to the warm pasta. Toss until combined. Add enough of the reserved pasta to make a sauce. Serve pasta in bowls. Makes 3-4 servings.

Layered Vegetable Torte

If you’re at all like me, you tend to over shop at the farmers market. Everything looks so darned good and fresh and healthy! Who cares that I don’t like zucchini when that cute basket is full of such a pretty combination of green and yellow—stripes, dapples and solids? And the eggplant—such luscious shades of purple and lavender, the plump Italian variety and the petite Japanese—those colors go so well in my kitchen!

On and on it goes with all varieties of carrots, peppers, potatoes, etc., plus our garden is now producing cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, beans, and herbs galore, so I’m all for recipes that incorporate many different types of produce into one dish. Thus I was thrilled to come across this Layered Vegetable Torte from New York Times Cooking, one of my go-to sites when I’m looking for inspiration. Featured are great recipes by Melissa Clark, Mark Bittman, Martha Rose Shulman, David Tanis and more, plus the occasional classics of Julia Child and Jacques Pepin. So many talented chefs sharing their knowledge  in one place—cooking nirvana!

Making delicious use of generous amounts of zucchini/summer squash, eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, basil and portabella mushrooms, you can now go back to the farmers market and stock up with a clear conscious. Vary the veggies if you wish, incorporating bell peppers, onions, cooked greens, etc. if you’re not feeling the zucchini or mushroom love. Eggplant makes a nice base, so I’m not sure you’d want to swap that out.

Serve on top of a puddle of spicy arrabbiata or marinara sauce and/or a wee bit of pesto and you’ve got yourself a sophisticated, healthy and hearty meal that will stimulate the senses and satisfy your appetite. Enjoy!

• Servings: 4-6
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Adapted from this Mark Bittman recipe

1 large or two small eggplant, cut into 1/4-inch slices

4 medium zucchini or yellow squash, cut into 1/4-inch slices

2 Portobello mushrooms, cut into 1/4-inch slices

½ cup extra virgin olive oil, or more as needed

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 plum or regular tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices

2 tablespoons minced garlic

¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan

½ cup bread crumbs, preferably whole wheat and preferably fresh

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Brush eggplant, zucchini and mushrooms lightly with half the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. If you don’t have access to a grill, you can roast the vegetables at 400 degrees F. in the oven using two oiled baking sheets. Roast or grill vegetables on both sides until soft—about 10-15 minutes whether on the grill or in the oven.

Coat the bottom and sides of an 8-inch spring-form pan with olive oil (if using a 9-inch pan, increase the veggies a bit). Layer a third of the eggplant slices into bottom of the pan, then layer in half the zucchini, mushrooms, tomato, garlic and basil, sprinkling each layer with a bit of salt and pepper. Repeat layers until all vegetable are used. Press the top with a spatula or spoon to make the torte as compact as possible. Sprinkle top with Parmesan and bread crumbs, and drizzle with about 1 tablespoon oil.

Bake the torte in oven until hot throughout and browned on top, about 30 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before removing the outer ring of pan, and then let cool for another 10 minutes before cutting into wedges. Serve with red sauce and/or pesto, if desired. Makes 4-6 servings.