Long have I eyed the shiitake mushrooms grown and sold by Morning Dew Hop Farm. Long have I believed that their price (quite steep, at least when compared to Kroger’s standard slimy Baby Bellas) was prohibitive. But this past week, I had a bit of money left over after buying our apples, sweet potatoes, and pears, and decided to just go for it.
What does one do with such expensive, gorgeous mushrooms? I decided to make half a recipe of this kale-and-mushroom side dish, a favorite so old it’s no longer on the Food and Wine website, one that usually requires four bunches of kale and a full pound of mushrooms. I’ve made this for Thanksgiving in the past (it keeps well, can be cooked the day before and reheated, and brings mushrooms to the plate if you’re not making green bean casserole) but always thought of it as “too much” for every day.
Cutting the recipe in half makes it doable. With the cooler weather, the political madness, and the busy-ness of everyday life in the fall, I needed something like this in my fridge: decadently umami but full of health, seeming to come straight from the earth.
Triple-Salty Mushrooms and Kale
Adapted from Food and Wine
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of kale, ripped off the stems
- 1½ tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1½ tbsp. olive oil
- ½ medium onion, diced
- ½ pound shiitake mushrooms, caps sliced into strips (save the stems in the freezer for a future broth)
- ¼ cup broth (fine to use Better Than Bouillon or something similar)
- 1½ tbsp. tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
Directions
- Boil a pot of salted water. Get the butter and oil started warming up in a large skillet, at medium-low heat.
- Cook the kale in the boiling water until it’s emerald-green (usually 4-5 min.) Drain, cool, then press the water out. (Don’t stress this step too much—this is a fundamentally wet dish—just give it a squeeze.) Chop the kale until it’s a size you could see yourself eating.
- Get the onion into the skillet with the butter and oil. You want to cook it until it’s very soft and golden-colored (6-8 minutes). Add the mushrooms and some salt and pepper. Turn the heat up so that the mushrooms start to soften, about 3 min.
- Cover the skillet with a lid, leaving the heat medium-high. This is the “get those mushrooms deeply browned” phase of things. You can periodically take the lid off to check and stir, but do keep them in there until they are looking nice. (This took me about 7 min, and looking back I think I could have left them even a couple minutes longer! But use your judgment.)
- Now, add the broth and kale to the skillet and combine everything well. Cover again, lower the heat to moderate, and periodically uncover to stir, about 3 min. Finally, stir in the soy or tamari and more salt and pepper, to taste. Serve.
- To make this a full meal, add a couple fried eggs or a little omelet, some sausage or bacon, roasted carrots, and/or roasted sweet potatoes.
