We have been raised to think our taste buds can sense four things: salty, sour, sweet and bitter. It’s pretty clear now that there is a fifth: umami. It’s that distinctive flavor you get from roasting meats or veggies. Like mushrooms.
This recipe is from the wonderful playground Simple by Diana Henry. It’s full of “simple” recipes, simple in the sense that they easily prepared. But they are anything but simple in terms of flavor. And, each of the recipes in Simple is really a template for you to make exactly as written or to amend to meet you pleasure. Or the contents of your refrigerator.
“I have yellow peppers,” my wife announced. Suzi always has peppers. Always. I have actually grown to enjoy them as much as she does. So, our picture up there has peppers.
We did make the garlic crème fraiche. We just ate it all so happily and quickly that we forgot to take a picture of the finished product. It was memorable, and a reclpe we will repeat. But, but, if you are edgy about dairy, or you want something a tad more healthy without the sauce, then look at this picture of simple roasted goodies. You can just spoon this sans sauce onto your plate and devour.
With or without sauce, this is an ideal side dish for roasted meats. Or just use this as a main course paired with a little salad for contrast in color and bite.
Thyme-Baked Mushrooms & Cranberry Beans with Roast Garlic Crème Fraiche
Yield: serves 4 as a side dish
Ingredients:
- 18 ounces portabellini or portobello mushrooms, carefully wiped clean
- 1 large onion, cut into wedges about ¾ inch thick
- ⅓ cup olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 8 sprigs of thyme
- salt and pepper
- 1 small garlic bulb
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
- 1 14 ounces can of cranberry beans, drained and rinsed
- Juice of ½ lemon
- ⅔ cup creme fraiche
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. If you have larger portobello mushrooms, slice thickly. Arrange the mushrooms and onion in a roasting pan in single layer. It looks a lot, but they shrink. Toss with 5 tablespoons of the regular olive oil, the vinegar, thyme, and seasoning. Cut the top off the garlic and seal the bulb into a foil parcel with a splash of water and the 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Set on a cookie sheet. Roast the garlic and mushrooms for 45 minutes. Mushrooms throw out a lot of water, but it should evaporate; they should also be dark. When there are 10 minutes to go, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of regular olive oil in a skillet and quickly sauté the beans. Season well. Add to the mushrooms while they finish cooking.
Toss the contents of the roasting pan. If they seem wet, set on medium-high heat and boil most of the moisture off. Tip into a warm bowl. Add the lemon and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Squeeze the garlic out of its skins, mash, then stir into the creme fraiche. Serve alongside.
Source: Simple by Diana Henry [Mitchell Beazley, 2016]
Photo Information: Canon T2i, EFS 60mm Macro Lens, F/3.5 for 1/30th second at ISO‑2500