Creamy Cremini Soup

 

From the infant white button, to the teenaged cremini, to the adult portabello, these fleshy mushrooms are hard to resist. Chunky, robust, and flavorful when sauteed, they make a hearty winter soup. I have refrained from putting down exact measurements here to allow for easy customization.

Ingredients

About 2 cups chopped or sliced Cremini or portabello mushrooms

1/2 Onion, chopped

About 2 cups Vegetable stock (or bullion substitute per taste)

About 1/4 cup heavy cream 

dried medium sage leaves (or 1/4 tsp ground sage)

dried bay leaves

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp black pepper, ground

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

garnish: spring onions

Preparation

1. Saute the sliced mushrooms in olive oil, with chopped onions and a pinch of salt in a soup pot.
2. Add the stock, brown rice, sage, bay leaves, and 1/4 tsp  black pepper powder, cover with the lid and allow to simmer on medium heat
   
3. Adjust flavors to taste, sprinkle with more black pepper, stir in heavy cream, garnish with chopped spring onions
4. Serve warm with favorite toasted bread
   

Stir-fried Portobello Mushrooms

A simple stir fry with some custom-made marinade/sauce. Snap peas, peppers and onions add body and flavor to the meaty texture of the portobello mushrooms.

Ingredients for marinade/stir-fry sauce:
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
½ tsp coconut sugar (or agave nectar)
½ tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp tamari
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp water

Stir together the marinade/sauce ingredients and pour over the veggies, allow to marinate for 10 minutes or so. Then, heat a cast iron skillet or wok to high heat, add a tablespoon of sesame oil, then add in the marinated veggies with all the marinade; stir on and off till crisp-tender.

Serve on a bed of arugula, or with brown basmati rice.

Portabella Mushroom and Radish Greens Curry

Now that winter is here and there's not enough sunlight, I miss the fresh herbs and baby greens from my garden. I particularly miss tender fenugreek leaves and young mustard greens, which I incorporate in my cooking as much for their healthful properties as their fresh crisp taste.

To remind me of the joys of fenugreek leaves, I decided to include a picture here taken over summer in my garden.

Fresh Fenugreek leaves from summer garden

In summer, I make this mushroom curry on and off with different varieties of mushrooms and greens -- the most common version is with with white button mushrooms and fenugreek leaves. Portabella being my favorite, I use it more often than other kinds. Stuffed Portabella makes a fantastic meal on its own, and especially when paired with my favorite arugula-and-pear salad, it feels like a feast.

This time, I went with Portabella mushrooms and radish greens. Now, radish is another favorite in my home garden – mainly, I must admit, for its gorgeous lilac flowers when it goes to seed and particularly the edible radish seed pods! We did the seed-saving and planting for a couple of years and then I got lazy... Maybe next year I get to do it again.

This is a simple curry, Indian-style: Saute and simmer, that's it.


Ingredients
1 cup radish greens, coarsely chopped with stems and all
1 Portabella mushroom, diced
½ large purple onion, diced
1 large tomato, diced
6 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 Tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
½ cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
salt to taste

Preparation

1. Marinate the Portabella mushroom in yogurt mixed with turmeric powder, keep it aside while assembling the rest of the ingredients
2. Heat the oil in a pan, add the onions, garlic, tomatoes, a pinch of salt, and saute
3. Add the radish greens and marinated mushrooms, spices and seasoning, a splash of water, cover and simmer on low heat till mushrooms are cooked through and the flavors meld
4. Serve warm with naan or roti, or even cooked millet or cous cous.

Portabella Stuffed with Chard, Peppers, Peas

"Giant Fungus? No, thank you!"

That seems to be the trend with the majority of the population in the household.

I happen to love mushrooms of all kinds, especially portabella/cremini. With fancy names like that, how can one sideline them as mere fungi.

Every once in a while, I make it just for myself, as an indulgence. Not an elaborate recipe, but whatever is handy as a stuffing is fine with me - like, leftover rice and beans, TVP, or just cheese and tomatoes and onions.

This stuffing here is my all-time favorite for portabella. Fresh chard, colorful peppers, red onions, jalapeños, peas in a creamy cheese sauce. Simply saute the veggies till softened, add some cheese and heavy cream to make a thick filling.

Rather than bake it in a 400 °F oven for about 10 minutes, I went with cooking it in a cast iron skillet. Gill the portabella and drizzle some Braggs Liquid Aminos and Balsamic vinegar, add some stuffing (I like to pile it on), cook in a lightly oiled hot cast iron skillet with a fitting lid on. Then, remove the lid and cook till done, adding more cheese or filling as desired.