Sunday Dinner: Creamy Mushroom & Parsnip Soup with Roast Chicken

This past Saturday, Silka went to the market to pick up some ingredients for the coming week. Without a real sense of direction, but knowing we would find a way to integrate pretty much anything into our meal plan, she grabbed a few staples including some gorgeous parsnips and a pound of bright, healthy mushrooms.

At home, while unpacking the market's bounty, Jake was inspired to make a parsnip and mushroom soup. We couldn't remember ever tasting that particular flavor combo, but it made sense to us! And it didn't take us long to find out that it also made sense to David Tanis, who had just written a recipe for Creamy Wild Mushroom and Parsnip Soup in the New York Times. It was almost exactly what we were looking for, but being the extreme fungus lovers that we are we decided to pump up the mushroomy-ness of the dish.

The rest of meal fell into place fairly easily. We had a couple of tasty-looking Belle Rouge chicken breasts from Violet Hill in the freezer, and we thought they'd go perfectly with the soup. And because we have recently become addicted to the micro radish greens at Two Guys, we served a handful on the side. So there we had it - a simple, tasty, and surprisingly light Sunday dinner. 

Creamy Mushroom & Parsnip Soup

Adapted from David Tanis' Creamy Wild Mushroom and Parsnip Soup

+ 4 tablespoons butter

+ 1 lb of white, crimini, or porcini mushrooms, cut into 1/8-inch slices

+ 2 med onions, sliced

+ 3 large parsnips, peeled and chopped

+ 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped

+ 2 garlic cloves

+ 1 thyme sprig

+ 1 rosemary sprig

+ 1 bay leaf

+ Salt and pepper

+ 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth

+ 3 tbsp chopped dried forest mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes then drained

+ 4 tbsp crème fraîche, plus more for garnish

+ 4 oz of bacon ends diced into small cubes and fried (optional garnish)

1. Melt the butter in a deep heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions, parsnips, carrot, sliced mushrooms, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf. Season generously with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are fragrant and the onions are soft and lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

2. Add the broth and the soaked dried mushrooms. Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat to a gentle simmer.

3. Discard the bay leaf and thyme branch and add the crème fraîche. Purée the soup with an immersion blender or in a blender or food processor to your desired texture.

4. Garnish with parsley, and a drizzle of crème fraîche. Add some bacon bits on top if you'd like.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Recipe: Mushroom Cream Sauce with Bacon

When you make something amazingly pure and delicious like homemade gnocchi you want to complement your efforts with a simple sauce. Gnocchi takes especially well to light cream sauces (and who doesn't like a light cream sauce?) so we jumped to an easy bacon and cream sauce that has become a trusty standby. This magic sauce takes almost no time or elbow grease to make, costs basically nothing and - if you're like us - you always have bacon, cream, and stock in the fridge, so it requires no shopping!   

Most of the time we add peas, but because no one sells frozen vegetables at the Union Square Market (why IS this?!) we decided to go with seasonal mushrooms. The Mitake and Shitake shrooms were looking and smelling particularly good this week, so we picked up about a half pound of each, figuring their earthy aroma would suit the potato-y clouds perfectly. And boy did it! We hope you enjoy as much as we do! 

Mushroom Cream Sauce with Bacon

+ 1 lb of mushrooms, cut in to meaty slices

+ 1 lb of bacon ends, cut into lardon, or thickly sliced bacon.

+ ¼ cup of cream

+ ½ cup stock

+ 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, roughly chopped

1. In a heavy skillet, on high heat, begin to brown the bacon. When the bacon starts to crisp up, add the mushrooms, and turn down to medium-high.

2. When the mushrooms start to brown and release their aroma (about 5 minutes) turn the heat further down to medium and add rosemary. After a few minutes pour in the stock and stir to release the browning bits off the pan. Let reduce for a few minutes.

3. Pour in the cream. Simmer for another couple minutes then mix in a pound of gnocchi or pasta.

Recipe: Lamb and Freekeh Stew

Spoiler alert: we make a lot of stews throughout the fall and winter months. We'll usually make one on Monday night, eat it all week for lunch, and throw the extra in the freezer. And we'll do this over and over. This week Jake wanted to make something that tasted the way our recent Berkshire hikes smelled. Hey, inspiration comes from all places, right? 

As an earthy starting point, we got some cubed lamb pieces from Arcadian Pastures, and a variety of mushrooms from Mardura. Next, we were off to Cayuga Pure Organics, once again seeking their grain wisdom. Even before we finished describing what we had in mind, they handed us some Freekeh. Freekeh, they explained, are roasted green spelt berries and we love spelt so it was an easy sell. Another bonus: the grain comes from North African and Middle-Eastern cooking traditions, where lamb is often the focal point.

We already had some duck stock in the freezer from our last roast and we figured it would play into our stew perfectly. We picked up carrot and leek bunches from Migliorelli and headed over the Windfall Farms to do some research on greens. They suggested Senposai - or Japanese collards - which are very similar to American collards, only sweeter. Sounded great! And finally to serve along side, a boule from Hot Bread Kitchen, knowing we still had some Monterey Chevre in the fridge.

We headed home, took out the cast iron kettle and started to cook. Almost immediately the apartment was filled with the most amazing aroma - just like the woods after a rainy fall day!

Lamb Stew with Freekeh

+ 1 pound lamb cubed for stew (cut from the shoulder or leg)

+ 1 pound of Freekeh

+ 1 pound of mushrooms, sliced

+ 4 cups of stock

+ 4 carrots, cut up into ¼ in slices

+ 4 leeks, cut up into ¼ in slices

+ 1 bunch of heart greens, like collards, sliced into ribbons

+ 1 cup of flower

+ ½ cup salt

+ 3 tablespoons of oil

1. On a large plate mix salt and flour. Coat the the lamb pieces in the mixture.

2. In a heavy pot or dutch oven heat the oil on medium-high heat. When hot, brown the lamb in batches, a few minutes on each side.

3. Meanwhile prepare leeks and carrots. When all the lamb is browned put in a bowl and set aside. Add the carrots and onions to the pot. 

4. When the carrots and onions begin to soften and brown, add the mushrooms. When the mushrooms start to brown and emit a strong mushroomy aroma, add the stock and the lamb and bring to a simmer. Cover.

5. After a half hour, rinse the freekeh like you would rice and then add to pot. Bring back to a boil and then bring down to a steady simmer. Cover.

6. After another half hour add greens. Cover and simmer for half hour. Serve.

Serves 6

Sunday Dinner: Chicken in Mushroom Sauce and Spinach Souffle

When we began planning for this weekend's meal, we realized it was the first weekend in at least four months that we'd be together in our apartment with no plans or guests. Now,  obviously we like to entertain but we were pretty psyched for our own little Sunday Dinner Date Night. When it's just the two of us we don't have to worry about how the food turns out or when dinner is ready, so we can take our time with more risky dishes. And if the kitchen gets a little messier because we're busy enjoying our newest local alcohol discovery, Breukelen Distillery Whiskey, then so be it.

It's truly autumn now - we're feeling and smelling it in the air, and seeing it in the warm light - and we were craving a hearty fall meal. Jake, an amateur mycologist, was especially craving mushrooms and because of the late summer rain they were in abundance. Silka had her eyes on the dark, crisp spinach flowing into the market stands and we both wanted to try something new.

We started with a spinach souffle, and from there started brainstorming what kind of mushroomy protein would go with it. Friday evening and Saturday morning  were spent pouring through our favorite cookbooks and we finally decided on chicken with a creamy mushroom sauce. Since both are fairly rich dishes, a green salad was the only addition we needed. 

On Saturday afternoon, we were off to the Market to get the goods with our friend Sara Mills, of Pomme Designs and Always Hungry. Both Bulich Mushroom Farm and Violet Hill Farm had an array of earthy mushrooms - crimini, hen of the woods, maitake, and porcini - and we got a little of each. From our buddies at Flying Pigs Farm we bought a beautiful plump chicken and a carton of eggs and we stopped by Migliorelli Farm for some crisp spinach. For our salad greens we went to one of our favorite greens farm, Windfall Farm and we ended with some truly amazing nutty Tuscan-style cheeses from Dancing Ewe Farm.

While marketting, we gave Sara a little tour of our favorite meat and dairy stands. You can read her lovely post about it here: "On Tour".

Chicken Parts in Mushroom Sauce

+ 1 whole chicken cut into 8 pieces

+ 4 small leeks, removing the dark green stems and cutting up the pale bulb into ¼ inch slices

+ 1 ½ lbs of mushrooms - we used porcini, crimini, and hen of the woods

+ ½ cup of ground dried mushrooms - you can buy dried mushrooms or dry them yourself

+ 1 cup of dry, earthy white wine (Burgundy or Arneis)

+ 1 cup of hot water

+ 2 tablespoons of olive oil or chicken schmaltz

+ 3 tablespoons of butter

+ 2 tablespoons of cream

+ A variety of herbs tied in a bundle around a clove of garlic - we used sage and thyme

+ salt and pepper 

1. In a large heavy-duty pan, drop the olive oil (or chicken schmaltz) and turn the burner to medium-high. As the pan is warming, pat the chicken dry with with a paper towel and generously salt the skin side. 

2. When the pan is hot brown the chicken parts in small batches- a minute or so on each side. (When browning, be careful not to crowd the pan or the ingredients won't brown properly.) Reserve the bowned chicken parts on a plate.

3. When all the chicken parts have been browned, saute the leeks in the same pan until they soften and become translucent. Meanwhile, combine the wine, hot water and ground dried mushrooms* in a separate bowl.

4. When the leeks are cooked put the chicken pieces back in the pan, skin side up, and add the liquid. Cover the pan partially, turning to a medium heat and keeping it at a slow simmer. 

5. Cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the chicken is done - check with a thermometer (the meat should be 165 degrees) or cut into a piece and see - take the chicken pieces out and arrange on a platter. 

6. Turn the heat back up to medium-high and add the butter and sliced mushrooms**, stirring and reducing for about 10 minutes. When reduced, remove from heat and stir in cream. Pour over chicken and serve.

* If you want to make your own dried mushrooms, take ½ lbs of mushrooms and slice them thickly (1/4 inch thick). Put them on a baking sheet, careful not to overlap them, and put in the oven at 200 degrees. Check on them occasionally to make sure they don't burn. After about an hour, remove from oven and grind in a spice grinder (or a coffee grinder), in a mortar, or with a knife.

** If you wanted to be super fancy, you could pre-saute the mushrooms while the chicken is cooking, using another pan and a little butter. It probably would make this dish better but it's more work and more dishes to clean. And to be honest, we didn't do that and our mushroom sauce was awesome!

Spinach Souffle

From Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything

+ 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, plus butter for the dish
+ ¼ cup AP flour
+ 1½ cups milk, warmed until hot to the touch (about a minute in an average microwave)
+ 6 eggs, separated
+ Salt and freshly ground black pepper
+ Dash of cayenne or ½ teaspoon dry mustard
+ ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

+ 2 tablespoons minced onion

+ 1 spinach, cooked, drained and chopped or pureed

1. Use a bit of the butter to grease a 2‐quart soufflé or other deep baking dish. (Hold off on this step if you're not going to bake the soufflés until later.)
2. Put the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium‐low heat. When the foam subsides, stir in the flour and cook, stirring, until the mixture darkens, about 3 minutes. Turn the heat to low and whisk in the milk, a bit at a time, until the mixture is thick. Let cool for a few minutes, then beat in the egg yolks, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cayenne or mustard, onion, spinach and cheeses. (At this point, you may cover the mixture tightly and refrigerate for a couple of hours; bring back to room temperature before continuing.)
3. About an hour before you're ready to cook, heat the oven to 375°F. Use an electric or hand mixer or whisk to beat the egg whites until fairly stiff. Stir about a third into the sauce to lighten it, then gently—and not overly thoroughly—fold in the remaining whites, using a rubber spatula or your hand. Transfer to the prepared dish and bake until the top is brown, the sides are firm, and the center is still quite moist, about 30 minutes. Use a thin skewer to check the interior; if it is still quite wet, bake for another 5 minutes. If it is just a bit moist, the soufflé is done. Serve immediately.