Mixed Mushroom Tart

When I was growing up, there was no such thing as a meat-free special occasion. Basically, for us, special occasions were an excuse to break out the grill and make some steak and potatoes. The veggies, in general, were of secondary, tertiary or quadrutiary (not a word) importance. One of the great things about being less-meatatarian is that it gives you the opportunity to branch out and find some really delicious and amazing special occasion food (that isn't just steak). This tart is delightfully rich. Even though it is decidedly meat-free, it's hearty and filling. With a side of some nice greens, or some asparagus, it can serve as a really excellent celebration meal.

This tart is full of wine-soaked mushrooms, two kinds of cheese and some lovely scallions, garlic and spices. It is dense and flavorful. It just so happened that this is what a certain Bengali gentleman requested as part of our celebration of our 3rd anniversary. In fact, the whole meal was tart-based because we had a nut tart (the recipe was posted a while back on here) to cap off the meal.

Wild Rice and Goat Cheese stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

This recipe is definitely a favorite of mine. It has a proven luckiness track record for me. It was the first dinner I cooked for a certain Bengali gentleman about 2.5 years ago, and let's just say that turned out well. These mushrooms involve a good bit of preparation, but the good news is that it can all be done ahead and then thrown in the oven at the last minute. You can assemble the mushrooms (with everything except the bread crumbs), wrap them individually in plastic and keep them in the fridge for up to 2 days. Just take them out of the fridge, add bread crumbs and throw them in the oven.

The recipe for these comes from a lovely little publication called The Vegetarian Times, and I follow it pretty much to the T. It's delicious and really filling.

Recipe:
2 Tbs. olive oil, divided
1 small onion, finely chopped
8 oz. button or white mushrooms, chopped
3 clove garlic, minced (3 tsp.)
1 cup cooked wild rice
1 package goat cheese, crumbled
4 large portobello mushrooms, stems and gills removed (a how-to on this process can be found here)
1 package cherry (or other small) tomatoes, cut in half
2 Tbs. lemon juice
4 tbsp. fine breadcrumbs, divided
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1) Cook wild rice according to package directions. Set aside to cool
2) Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and grease a baking sheet.
3) Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook for approximately 5 minutes.
4) Stir in button mushrooms and chopped stems from portobellas, salt and black pepper. Allow to cook for about 9 minutes, or until most of the water from the mushrooms has evaporated.
5) Stir in Wild rice and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
6) Remove from heat and stir in goat cheese.
7) Place the portobella caps on the baking sheet and fill each with 1/4 of the filling.
8) Toss the cherry tomatoes with lemon juice, then place them on top of the mushrooms (it helps to push them into the filling a bit. Pour any extra lemon juice on the mushrooms.
9) Sprinkle 1 tbsp. bread crumbs on top of each of the mushrooms.
10) Bake for 30-35 minutes. Serve with extra wild rice or salad.

I hope this recipe is as lucky for you as it is for me!

Until our next dinner,
ceh.