Portabella Pot Roast

For the last couple weeks, I was on the lookout for something special to make for our Valentine’s dinner and kept coming back to a recipe called portabella pot roast. The picture accompanying the recipe was just so pretty! There were aspects of the recipe I liked, but it didn’t seem like the dish would have a whole lot of flavor. After looking at several other recipes with similar names, I took some flavor bits from a couple and applied them to that recipe with the pretty picture.

It turned out to be absolutely delicious! Layers of complex flavors and the comfort a meaty dish with hearty vegetables brings. A crisp green salad and homemade bread rounded out the meal. A very special meal! And as a bonus, being quick and easy, this doesn’t need to be relegated to “special” times—it would even work on a weeknight. Enjoy!

• Servings: 4-6
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Adapted from this Better Homes and Gardens recipe

8 four-inch portabella mushroom caps (about 12 ounces), stemmed and gills removed

12 oz. baby gold potatoes (or a mix of gold and red), halved if large

12 oz carrots with an inch of tops

1 large sweet onion, cut into 8 wedges

3 cloves garlic, sliced

3 or 4 sprigs of thyme

1 cup vegetable stock or broth (I used Better Than Bouillon No Beef Base)

1/3 cup dry red wine

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (Annie’s and Whole Foods 365 brands are vegetarian)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

¾ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated horseradish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large Dutch oven or 13×9 baking dish, layer mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, and thyme. Mix together stock, wine, and Worcestershire. Pour over vegetables. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Cover with lid or foil and bake for 45-60 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

Remove pan from oven and, using a tongs or slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to a serving platter. Pour cooking liquid from pan into a small saucepan and, over medium heat, bring to a boil. Boil gently, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes until reduced by about half. Spoon over vegetables. Sprinkle with freshly grated horseradish. Makes 4-6 servings.

Mushroom French Dip with Horseradish Mayo

Do restaurants still have French dip sandwiches on the menu? I remember back in high school or college eating them when dining out, but don’t recall seeing them on menus after that. Maybe I just didn’t notice once I became a vegetarian.

When I saw a mushroom version online recently, warm food memories of the traditional sandwich came flooding back. The chewy roll, the tender beef, and oh, the au jus! Honestly I don’t remember cheese and caramelized onions on the sandwich, but what I ate probably wasn’t authentic, and I’m sure it would have been loads better with those two additions.

Since my go-to beef replacement over the last almost 30 years has been mushrooms in some form, this moved to the top of my “must make” list. Truly a multi-dimensional meal, the bite of horseradish in the garlicky mayo; the rich, meaty mushrooms; the soft, sweet caramelized onions; creamy Provolone; and the complex au jus come together on toasty French bread for a sensory overload of deliciousness. When Pete deemed this one of the best things I’ve ever made, well, I felt a duty to share. You’re welcome!

• Servings: 4
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Adapted from this Pinch of Yum recipe

Horseradish Mayo:

½ cup of your favorite mayonnaise (if you’re mayo averse, I highly suggest Vegenaise Better than Mayo brand—no eggs, no dairy)

2 teaspoons prepared horseradish

2 cloves garlic, finely grated

Pinch of salt

Seasoned mushrooms:

6 large portabella mushroom caps or more if they’re smaller (about 18 ounces total), wiped clean, gills scraped off, and sliced about 1/3 inch thick

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons Montreal steak seasoning (store-bought or homemade; I made a scaled down version of this recipe) or just use salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Caramelized onions and au jus:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced

¼ cup dry sherry

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (Annie’s and Whole Foods 365 are both vegetarian)

1 tablespoon reduced sodium tamari or soy sauce

2 cups vegetarian “beef” broth (I used 2 teaspoons Better than Bouillon No Beef Base with 2 cups hot water)

Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

To complete the sandwiches:

4 demi baguettes or one long baguette cut into four sections

Butter or buttery spread, optional

Provolone cheese slices

To make horseradish mayo, whisk ingredients together in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

To prepare the mushrooms, warm the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and sprinkle with steak seasoning. Cook, tossing mushrooms occasionally, until they release their liquid, it has cooked off, and mushrooms are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Set aside.

To caramelize the onions and make the au jus, melt the butter in a heavy skillet, preferably cast-iron, over medium heat. Add onions and cook, tossing occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until they are golden brown, about 30-40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Add the sherry to the onions and cook until the sherry has evaporated. Add the Worcestershire, tamari, and the broth. Increase heat to medium and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes until slightly reduced. Taste, and add salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and dump the mixture into the strainer, separating the onions from the au jus. Set both aside.

Halve the baguettes horizontally and spread with butter (optional). Place on a sheet pan. Divide mushrooms among bottom bread sections and cover with Provolone slices (cut to fit if slices are wide). Transfer pan to the oven and toast the open sandwiches for about 5 or 6 minutes.

Remove from oven and top the mushroom/cheese side of sandwiches with caramelized onions. Liberally spread top sandwich portions with the horseradish mayo and put sandwich tops on bottoms. Serve each sandwich with a small bowl of au jus for dipping. Make sure to have plenty of napkins and enjoy! Makes 4 sandwiches (no judging if the two of you eat all four portions; that might have happened here).

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.

Grilled Mushroom Satay wtih Garlic Scape Skewers

Checking out the new additions at the farmer’s market on Saturday, I was excited to see garlic scapes. A first for me last year, I immediately fell in love with their mild garlic flavor and versatility—soups, pesto, eggs, salads—scapes in everything—that is, for the short amount of time they are available.

The flower buds of the garlic plant, scapes are cut from the plants in late June to encourage the bulbs to thicken up. They are long and curl into a loop when cut and are sold in bunches of the most beautiful shade of green. Odd looking, but oh so pretty at the same time.

Garlic Scapes

Wanting to use the scapes in a different way, I turned to Google for some ideas and stumbled across a Food52 recipe for this beef satay recipe that uses scapes as skewers. Genius! Something I never would have thought of, but now makes so much sense—why NOT an edible skewer?

My go-to veggie substitute for steak is the meaty portabella mushroom, so that was swapped for the round steak. I tweaked the marinade recipe a bit and used a different satay sauce, and the result was fantastic! In fact, I may use this as my regular marinade for portabella burgers from now on—the flavors just sing!
You can make the satay sauce a day or two ahead of time, or make it while the mushrooms are marinating. I poked each mushroom quarter with a metal skewer to create a hole and then threaded the end of the scape through that I had cut into a point. A couple mushrooms broke, so I just grilled them separately next to the skewers.

Arranged on a platter, the finished product is as eye-catching as it is delicious! And don’t skimp on the phenomenal satay sauce. Enjoy!

Grilled Mushroom Satay with Garlic Scape Skewers

• Servings: 4
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Inspired by this recipe from Food 52

6 garlic scapes

1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

Juice of one lime

Small handful of cilantro leaves

About 10 mint leaves

About 10 Thai basil leaves

1/4 cup tamari (wheat-free soy sauce)

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil

4 large portabella mushroom caps, stems removed and gills scraped out, and cut into quarters

Make scape skewers by cutting 8-9 inches off the non-flower bud end of six garlic scapes. Trim one end of each scape into a point. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the marinade, cut 3-4 of the remaining portion of the scapes into small pieces (discard the wide part, which is the flower bud). Place in the bowl of a food processor and add the ginger, lime juice, cilantro, mint, Thai basil leaves and the tamari. Blend until smooth. With the blender running, drizzle in the sesame and grapeseed oils and blend until combined.

Pour the marinade into a large zip-lock bag and add the portabella mushroom quarters. Seal the bag and gently toss everything around to coat the mushrooms. Refrigerate for several hours, turning several times (alternately, marinate at room-temperature for about an hour, tossing occasionally).

While mushrooms are marinating, make the Spicy Satay Sauce (recipe below).

Heat gas grill to medium high (or charcoal grill to the equivalent). Poke the mushroom quarters with a metal skewer and then thread through the hole formed by the metal skewer with the scape skewers, using three mushroom quarters per garlic scape skewer.

Place the skewers on a pan designed for cooking items that might fall through the grates on a grill. Grill until the mushrooms are cooked through, turning about every 2 minutes in order to cook evenly, for a total of about 10 minutes, basting occasionally with remaining marinade.

Serve drizzled with Spicy Satay Sauce. Makes 4 skewers.

Spicy Satay Sauce
1/3 cup tamari (wheat-free soy sauce)

¼ cup light coconut milk

2 tablespoons natural peanut butter, at room temperature

1 tablespoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice or white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice

1 teaspoon minced ginger root

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon pure maple syrup or honey

1 teaspoon Asian chili paste (like Sambal Oelek)

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Whisk together all sauce ingredients in a bowl until combined. Serve at room temperature. Leftovers will keep a couple weeks in the fridge.