Vessy's day » mushrooms

Chicken chow mein

Vessy — Fri, 08 Apr 2016 14:25:02 +0000

I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love noodles, especially egg noodles. They are so easy and quick to prepare, plus, there is no boiling needed here. As for the taste, in my opinion, they are a bit lighter than classic pasta, like spaghetti. Don’t get me wrong, I love pasta /I can eat pasta all day long, every day /, but for me, pasta is usually a rich and heavy dish. When I make pasta I keep it simple in flavors, but sauces, as simple as they can be, often involve cream and lots of cheese.
When making egg noodles, you don’t need heavy sauces or cheese, all you need is good amount of veggies and good quality soy sauce (plus some other Asian sauces if you have on hands). A few days ago, I received (thank you, BioMarketBalev) a selection of Asian style organic products of the Clearspring brand, some of which I used in this recipe. Shiitake mushrooms were unbelievable delicious and I believe that the one thing you can not replace in this recipe are the shiitake – they give this amazing flavor to the meal. Believe me, it’s really good, so don’t skip them or use any other mushrooms!
I have a few extra gems left, like organic silky tofu, wakame, sushi supplies, so stay tuned for the upcoming recipes!
Anyway, back to this one….there are millions of flavors and recipes for chow mein. Often, I throw in whatever veggies I have left in the fridge, that’s the beauty of this dish. So, in case you have some other vegetables you want to add to the recipe, just feel free. As of preparation, most important thing to remember here is that egg noodles do not need boiling, you just have to cover them with hot water and let them sit for about 15 min and they are ready.

Ingredients:
30 grams (1 oz) dry shiitake mushrooms
130 grams (5 oz) dry egg noodles
For the chicken:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 chicken breast, boneless, skinless, chopped into small pieces
1 tablespoon soy sauce Shoyu
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
For the veggies:
5-6 spring onions, chopped
1 leek, chopped
2 tablespoons wild garlic, chopped (or regular, if you don’t have the green one)
50 grams (2 oz) raw mung bean sprouts
1 tablespoon soy sauce Shoyu
2 table spoons toasted sesame oil
1 tea spoon sesame seeds, roasted
Salt and pepper

Place shiitake mushrooms in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them sit for about 15 minutes or until soft. Drain and cut into small pieces. Discard any tough parts of the mushrooms. Set aside.
In another large bowl add noodles and cover with boiling water. Let them sit for about 15 minutes, then drain and wash with cold water to stop the cooking. Add a drop or two of sesame oil and stir. Set aside.
In the meantime prepare the chicken: In a large saucepan, heat a little bit of olive oil and add the chicken, cook until golden brown, then add a tablespoon of soy sauce and cook until soy sauce evaporates and chicken is a bit caramelized. Transfer chicken to a bowl, season with salt and pepper, drizzle a little bit of sesame oil and stir. Set aside.
In the same saucepan heat another tablespoon or two of olive oil and add shiitake, onions, leeks, garlic and bean sprouts. Cook for a few minutes, then add a tablespoon of soy sauce. Cook for another minute. Sprinkle some sesame oil, sesame seeds, season with salt and pepper and stir. Add chicken and noodles and give it a good stir to combine and noodles warm up.
Serve immediately.

Tortilla wraps with eggs, mushrooms & tofu

Vessy — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 08:39:35 +0000

Yet another delicious breakfast or weekend lunch. Recipe is easy to follow and very delicious.
These wrappers could be also packed to go and enjoyed in the park, or in the car on the way to work.

Ingredients:
200 grams (7 oz) fresh mushrooms, cleaned and chopped roughly
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, chopped finely
5 large eggs
400 grams (14 oz) ajvar Mama’s with tofu
Salt & Pepper
Iceberg lettuce, chopped
Tortilla wraps

Heat the butter on medium heat in a small saucepan. Add mushrooms and cook until golden brown and all the juices they let, evaporate. Season with salt, pepper and thyme.Set aside until needed.
In another larger skillet heat the olive oil. Cook onion and garlic until soft and translucent. Add eggs and 2/3rds of the ajvar and cook until well done. Season with salt and pepper and add the mushrooms. Stir until all is combined. Transfer to a clean bowl and put the skillet back on the stove.
Cook tortilla wraps – brush tortillas with the rest of the ajvar on one side and place on the skillet with the brushed side down. Cook until they soften but get crisp edges. Turn and cook the other side.
Wrap tortillas while still hot – add a little bit of the eggs and a little bit of fresh iceberg lettuce.

Wild mushroom risotto with mascarpone

Vessy — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 16:33:50 +0000

This creamy, flavorful risotto is one of those perfect quick dinner recipes that my family and I love on a midweek night. It is ready in 30 minutes, healthy and delicious, plus, you know, nothing is better than a homemade warm meal, after a long day of work.
Recipe includes wild Chanterelle mushrooms and mascarpone cheese. Substitute the wild mushrooms with any other kind your have on hands or prefer! Mascarpone cheese makes risotto creamier and richer, but you can use cream cheese or a little bit of cooking cream instead, if you wish.
Add more or less cheese, mushrooms and adjust the seasoning according to your taste!

Ingredients:
250 grams (9 oz) Chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and patted dry
Fresh thyme
2 table spoons butter
3 table spoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped finely
3 garlic cloves, minced
200 grams (7 oz) risotto rice (Arborio)
600 ml. hot vegetable broth
100 grams (3,5 oz) mascarpone cheese
Parmigiano reggiano optional

Salt and pepper

In a small saucepan heat the butter. Add mushrooms with thyme and cook until soft and golden brown. Set aside.
Prepare broth – you will need about two and a half times the quantity of the rice you are cooking, so if you have 200 grams of rice, you will need about 500 ml. of broth. You will have to adjust the quantity of the broth on the go, depending on the type of rice you cook. Keep the broth hot until needed.
In a large saucepan heat the olive oil on medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent and softer. Turn the heat down to medium and add the garlic. Cook for a minute, then add the rice and mix with the onion and garlic, just enough to heat it, not fry it (on low heat).
Turn the heat up a bit and gradually start adding the broth, part by part as you stir the rice repeatedly – stirring is important because it helps the rice to loose the starch, which creates nice creamy texture of the sauce. Make sure to stir your rice almost constantly but gently because you don’t want to smash it. Let the rice absorb almost all of the part broth you have added, before you add more broth. Keep adding broth until the rice is almost cooked – the rice should be al dente and moist – this means that risotto is usually served with it’s creamy sauce. If you let the broth evaporates completely while your rice is cooking, then you will not have the creamy sauce. If you see that risotto gets dry but it is almost cooked, then add just enough broth to moisten it.
Total time for cooking the rice is about 20-25 minutes, so about 2-3 minutes before the rice is ready add the mushrooms and stir.
Turn the heat off and add the mascarpone, stir gently to combine and season with salt and pepper.
Serve with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Five cheese stuffed mushooms

Vessy — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 13:47:50 +0000

This recipe is one of my favorite appetizer recipes – it is easy, delicious and looks amazing.

I wouldn;t say it is a quick one, but I guess there is no such thing as an “amazing” dish, which would be ready in a second.

This recipe has other advantages, except the amazing taste – the stuffing mixture could be prepared a day ahead, which will save you a lot of time on the day, you need it.

Ingredients:
About 10 large mushroms
150 grams cottage cheese
50 grams blue cheese, shredded
120 grams mozzarella, shredded
50 grams cream cheese
20 grams parmezan, shredded
50 grams spinach, chopped into small pieces
1 medium onion, chopped into small pieces
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 table spoons olive oil
1 table spoon thyme, finely chopped

Wash the mushrooms and remove the stems (chop up the stems finely).
Place the mushrooms on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper and bake on 170 C for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool off. You will notice that the mushrooms are filled with water – excess it.
In a large skillet saute the onion and garlic with the spinach. Once the spinach softens, add the stems, season with pepper and thyme and cook until well done.
Let the spinach and stem mixture cool off.
In a medium bowl mix all types of cheese except the parmesan.
Add the spinach mixture to the cheese mixture and mix well.
Stuff the mushrooms with the mixture, sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and put back in the oven for another 15 minutes.
Serve warm or cold with sweet balsamic reduction.