Wild Rice And Mushroom Soup

 

Wild rice And Mushroom Soup

A creamy and herbaceous soup for a chilly autumn day when the rains have returned. We roasted the mushrooms separately to add some crunch and earthy meatiness.

Ingredients:    
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup carrots, peeled and diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup sweet onions or shallots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ cups wild rice, rinsed
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 ½ quarts vegetable broth
2 cups kale, ribs removed and torn into small pieces
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper
2 pounds mixed mushrooms ( wild oyster, chanterelle, lobster and enoki mushrooms, use what you like.)
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add in the carrots, celery and onions, and sweat for 5–7 minutes, until they begin to soften. Add in the wild rice, and sauté with the vegetables for another minute. Add in the fresh herbs, red pepper flakes and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes, until the wild rice is fully cooked. Prep your mushrooms while the rice is cooking.

Add in the torn kale, Parmesan and heavy cream, cook for an additional 2 or 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

For the mushrooms: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Tear mushrooms into small pieces, and toss with the olive oil, salt and pepper, and fresh parsley. Roast for 15–20 minutes, or until the mushrooms are deeply browned and crispy. Serve on top of the soup with more fresh parsley.

Notes: This recipe uses butter, cream and Parmesan cheese for an additional layer of luxury, but you can easily substitute olive oil, coconut milk and nutritional yeast for an equally delicious, fully vegan riff. Either way, your kitchen will smell heavenly.

Cheddar-Stuffed Mushrooms With Wild Rice Crunch

Cheddar-Stuffed Mushrooms With Wild Rice Crunch

Much like popcorn, wild rice can be popped, though perhaps not quite as dramatically. Exposed to dry heat in a skillet, they pop and split, modestly exposing their white interiors, and toast to a deliciously nutty flavour. Give them a whirl in a spice grinder, toss them with melted butter and chopped pecans and you have a seriously tasty topping to an already more-ish stuffed mushroom, a terrific side to simply prepared steak or chops.  Serves 6

Ingredients:
¼ cup (60 mL) wild rice
¼ cup (60 mL) chopped pecans
¼ cup (60 mL) butter, divided
Salt and freshly ground pepper
6 large portobello mushrooms
8 oz (250 g) mixed mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 leek, white and light green part only, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp (30 mL) flour
1 cup (250 mL) milk
2 tsp (10 mL) miso
1 cup (250 mL) coarsely grated old cheddar
3 green onions, chopped
2 tbsp (30 mL) Japanese soy sauce
2 tbsp (30 mL) neutral-flavour oil such as grape-seed or safflower
⅓ cup (80 mL) coarsely grated Parmesan
Directions:
Heat a skillet with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat; add rice, cover and, shaking pan from time to time, pop and toast rice, about 2 minutes. (The amount of moisture in rice will determine how much the rice opens. The grains should be distinctly split and smell nutty.) Cool to room temperature and grind to a powder in a spice grinder. Turn out into a small bowl; add pecans. Melt 2 tbsp (30 mL) butter and pour over rice mixture. Stir to combine, season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Remove stems from portobello mushrooms; roughly chop and add stems to chopped mixed mushrooms.

Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).

Melt remaining 2 tbsp (30 mL) butter in a large skillet over medium. Add leek and cook for 4 minutes, stirring, until wilted. Stir in garlic and mixed mushrooms, season with salt and pepper; cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and pan is dry. Sprinkle flour over and stir to combine. Add milk and miso; continue to stir until smooth and thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in cheese and green onions.

Combine soy and oil; brush it over both sides of portobello caps and arrange, hollow-side up, on a baking sheet. Divide cheese mixture between caps, then add Parmesan, then the wild rice mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until portobellos are tender and cheese is golden at edges. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6

Serve a Pinot Noir

Mushroom Wellington ~ Vegan

Mushroom Wellington

Ingredients:
Mushroom Filling
4 large portobello mushrooms, each about 3 inches wide (8 to 10 ounces total)
½ cup plus 5 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 pounds mixed mushrooms, such as shiitake, oyster and cremini
4 shallots, finely chopped (about 1 packed cup)
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
⅓ cup port, or 1 to 2 tablespoons good-quality aged balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts (about 4 ounces)
Ice, for cooling
Onions:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium yellow onions (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
¾ teaspoon light or dark brown sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
¾ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup apple cider or apple juice
1 tablespoon good-quality aged balsamic vinegar (optional)
For Assembling
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1 (14-ounce) package puff pastry
1 large egg, beaten
Port Reduction:  optional
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
1 ½ cups good-quality port
1 ½ cups vegetable stock
3 fresh thyme sprigs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt and black pepper

 Directions:

Wipe the portobello mushrooms clean using barely moistened paper towels. Remove the stems, then slice off the excess mushroom rim that curls over the gills. (You are making sure the stem side has a flat surface so it will sear properly.) Reserve the stems and scraps for use in Step 2. Brush the portobello mushroom caps on both sides with 3 tablespoons olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large (12-inch) nonstick skillet over medium-high and cook the mushrooms, gill-side down, until caramelized, 4 to 5 minutes, then flip and cook until softened, about 4 more minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, gill-side down, to cool.

Prepare the mushroom filling: Separate and reserve any mushroom stems. Roughly chop about two-thirds of the mixed mushrooms, then working in batches, transfer the roughly chopped mushrooms to a food processor and pulse until chopped into small pieces. (They should range from 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch in size.) Transfer the chopped mushrooms to a large bowl. By hand, finely chop the remaining mixed mushrooms and stems and the reserved portobello mushroom stems and trimmings into 1/4-inch pieces; add them to the large bowl. 

(Chopping most of the mixed mushrooms in the food processor will save you some time, but you’ll want to chop some by hand for texture.)
Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl. (You’ll use this to quickly cool the cooked mushrooms in Step 4. If preparing in advance, you can simply let the mixture cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.) Wipe out the skillet. Working in two batches, warm 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high heat. Add about half the mushrooms, shallots, garlic and rosemary, and season lightly with salt and generously with pepper. (You’ll add soy sauce later, so avoid overseasoning at this stage.) 

Cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized and tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and repeat with the remaining 1/4 cup oil and the remaining mushrooms, shallots, garlic and rosemary.
Once the second batch of chopped mushrooms is cooked and caramelized, return the first batch to the skillet. Add the port, soy sauce and thyme leaves and cook over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until the liquid evaporates, 3 to 5 minutes. (If using balsamic vinegar instead of port, reduce the cook time to 1 to 2 minutes.) Transfer the mushroom mixture back to the medium bowl and stir in the walnuts. Set the bowl over the prepared ice bath to cool, stirring occasionally, at least 20 minutes.

Prepare the cider-caramelized onions: Wipe out the skillet, then melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, sprinkle with the sugar, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the cider and cook, stirring every few minutes, until the liquid evaporates and the onions are caramelized, about 15 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, if using, then transfer to a bowl to cool.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a large piece of parchment paper on your work surface and lightly dust it with flour. Unfold your thawed puff pastry and set it on the parchment. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the pastry out into a 13-by-16-inch rectangle. 

Transfer the parchment paper and puff pastry to a large sheet pan. Rotate the sheet pan, if needed, so that one of the 16-inch sides is closest to you. Arrange half the cooked mushroom mixture in a strip in the center of the puff pastry (it should be about 4-by-10 inches), leaving a 1½-inch border at the ends. 

Arrange the caramelized onions in a single, 3-inch-wide strip on top of the mushroom mixture, leaving about ½ inch of the mushrooms exposed on both sides. Lay the portobello mushrooms on top of the onions in a single line, stem-side down. (If the portobellos are too large to all fit in a row, square off edges so the cut sides lay snugly without overlapping.) Spoon the remaining mushroom mixture on top of the filling, covering the portobello mushrooms, then gently pack the mushroom mixture to form an even layer on top. (You can shape this the same way you might shape a freeform meatloaf.)

To assemble, lift one side of the puff pastry over the mushroom filling to almost completely cover it. Brush the surface of the puff pastry covering the mushrooms with the beaten egg. Lift the remaining puff pastry flap over the egg-washed puff pastry, gently stretching it if need be to create a second layer of puff pastry on top, then gently press the top layer of pastry onto the lower layer using your fingertips to seal. Brush the insides of the short ends of the puff pastry and press to seal. Trim any parchment paper that extends beyond the sheet pan.

Brush the exposed puff pastry on top with the remaining beaten egg. Decorate the top of the puff pastry as you like: Create a cross-hatch pattern by gently slicing through only the top layer of puff pastry in parallel lines, then cutting parallel lines in another direction. (Apply very little pressure, as you only want to cut through the top layer of puff pastry, not the second layer.) You can also slice small decorative vents in the puff pastry (be sure to slice all the way through both layers of puff pastry), or top with additional strips or shapes made from egg-washed puff pastry.

Transfer to the middle rack in the oven and bake until puff pastry is deep golden and flaky, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool slightly on the baking sheet, about 10 minutes.

While the Wellington bakes, prepare the optional port reduction: In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium. Add the shallot, garlic and peppercorns, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the port, stock and thyme, and cook over medium-high until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 25 to 30 minutes. Strain the sauce, discarding the solids. (You should have about 1/2 cup sauce.) Cover and set aside until ready to serve. When ready to serve, warm the sauce over medium. Once warmed, whisk in the butter, season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

To serve the mushroom Wellington, cut it crosswise into 8 even slabs. (Each slab will include a pretty cross-section showcasing the halved portobello mushroom in the center; this is considered the presentation side.) Serve each piece presentation-side up. Pass with port reduction for drizzling on top.