I don't even know where to begin with this one. I guess we could trace things back to an impulse buy at the farmers market last week: honey mushrooms. These guys were a bit of a splurge (when I say splurge I mean like $4 for ~10), but I'm really into mushrooms and have always wanted to buy a box from this lady's stand. So I did.
And I also got this really neat sort-of-cookbook when I was in New York over the holidays; It's called The Flavor Thesaurus by Niki Segnit. It's amaze and I'm really down with it 'cause I modify pretty much any recipe I get my hands on anyway, and this isn't so much a cookbook as it is an inspiration guide -- it's perfect. I think the most intriguing thing about cooking is all the surprising flavor combinations. Like, ok, would you expect avocado and coffee to pair well together? Having established itself in the savory realm, avocado's true roots are often forgotten; it's actually a fruit. In many Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines, avocado's thrown into a shake with condensed milk, sugar, and coffee or chocolate syrup. Learned that from the book. It's neat like that.
So, farmers market impulse buy in hand/fridge, I flipped through The Flavor Thesaurus to get some culinary inspiration. My eyes and stomach set on mushroom + dill. Both earthy flavors, dill pairs well with mushroom, but brings a more refreshing and crisp light to a dish. I imagined this would be perfect as a flatbread with the warm bread serving as the perfect platform for the mushroom + dill to show off a lil bit. Olive oil, garlic, goat cheese -- it was all coming together and I was practically salivating. And few things that I imagine actually come into fruition in 100% fulfillment of my original vision, but this did. This is exactly what I pictured it looking like, and it tasted exactly (if not better) than I'd hoped.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 4 oz. plain goat cheese
- 4 large honey mushrooms
- 12 beech mushrooms
- small bundle enoki
- 2 large pita/flatbreads (if you can, try getting fresh pita from a local bakery or middle eastern market/cafe)
- applewood smoked sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
OLIVE OIL DRESSING:
- 1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced in food processor
- 1 tbs minced dill
- dash of salt + pepper
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a small bowl, mix all the olive oil dressing stuff together well.
3. Using a pastry brush, brush olive oily goodness all over pitas. Toss 'em in the over for about 10 minutes while you continue to prep.
4. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté onions in leftover olive oil dressing. Once onion are tender (but not brown), put them in a bowl and let 'em hang out while you do work on the mushrooms.
5. Add just a little more olive oil to the skillet and toss in your honey mushrooms + beech mushrooms. The number of mushrooms you use doesn't have to be exact, but I offered my count for reference. Never be hesitant about more mushrooms. Ever. (Same with garlic.) Let the shrooms get tender and then toss in the enoki. The enoki are just lil guys, so they really don't need much time on the heat. Sprinkle a generous pinch of applewood smoked sea salt (I got some in the bulk herbs+spices section of my local health food store) and pepper over the pan, and remove from heat once everything's all tasty and tender. I'm not sure how long this is, but just sample a mushroom every few minutes near the end (another reason why having mushroom surplus is good).
6. Pop the pitas out of the over and spread about 2 oz. of goat cheese on each.
7. Top with a layer of the mushroom mix, then a layer of the sauteed onions. A couple sprigs of fresh dill on each tastes really good, too.
8. Put the pitas back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
LA FIN.