A Celebration of Mushrooms & Flavor
By: Pam Smith, RDN
I’ve had the opportunity to share a taste of this dish across the nation this year on behalf of The Mushroom Council. From San Diego to Boston to Atlanta — and countless amazing places in between, the opinion seems to remain the same: “flavor bomb!” Try it at home and let me know what you think!
Want to get the flavors that make this meal magical? They’re all available at psflavor.com!
Crimini and Chicken Meatballs, Grains and Greens Power Bowl
Makes 4-6 servings
Ingredients
Chicken and Crimini Meatballs, recipe follows
1 cup farro
1 teaspoon P.S. Flavor!™ Creole Kitchen, or Creole seasoning of your choice
2 cups mushroom broth (or lower sodium chicken broth)
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 ears sweet yellow corn, kernels removed (about 2 ½ cups corn)
1 cup Crimini mushrooms, diced and roasted
1 cup asparagus, cut on bias and blanched
1 cup roasted pepper, diced
2 cups fresh kale, shredded and massaged
1/2 cup dried red tart cherries
1/2 cup Marcona almonds or pistachios, toasted
Citrus Sherry Vinaigrette, recipe follows
1 cup feta cheese, small diced
Microgreens, for garnish
Sautéed or roasted Beech mushrooms, for garnish
Whipped Feta for garnish, recipe follows
Method
Toast farro in dry skillet over medium heat until toasty brown and fragrant. Add 1 teaspoon Creole Kitchen, mushroom or chicken broth, onion and garlic, and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Adjust the heat to a simmer and cook for 18-20 minutes until just tender but still al dente, and most of liquid has absorbed.
To assemble the salad, combine the farro and corn kernels, roasted mushrooms, blanched asparagus, roasted pepper, massaged kale, dried cherries and nuts. Toss with Citrus Sherry Vinaigrette. Adjust seasoning to taste.
When ready to serve, brown meatballs
To serve, swoosh plate with whipped feta; add a spoon of toasted farro salad. Top with Meatballs, and garnish with crumbled feta, Beech mushrooms and microgreens.
Citrus Sherry Vinaigrette
Ingredients
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange or clementine juice
1-2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon P.S. Flavor!™ Creole Kitchen, or Creole seasoning of your choice
1 tablespoon P.S. Flavor!™ Citrus Spice, or lemon zest, kosher salt and black pepper
1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Method
Whisk together the sherry vinegar, citrus juice, honey, Dijon mustard, Creole Kitchen, and Citrus Spice and then drizzle in 1/3 cup olive oil while whisking to emulsify. Adjust seasoning and honey, to taste.
Chicken and Crimini Meatballs
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds lean ground chicken
1/2 pound ground roasted Crimini mushrooms, recipe follows
1 tablespoon lemon zest (from one lemon
1/2 cup packed fresh parsley and/or mint leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup red onion, finely diced
3 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons Smokey Shroom Seasoning, recipe follows, or P.S. Flavor!™ Porcini Pepper
1 tablespoon P.S. Flavor!™ Creole Kitchen, or Creole seasoning of your choice
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup feta, grated
1/2 cup panko
Pomegranate Molasses glaze, optional
Method
To a medium bowl, add the chicken, ground mushrooms, herbs and lemon zest.
Heat EVOO in a small pan, add onion and sauté until sweet and translucent. Add garlic and seasonings and sauté another 30 seconds. Place in shallow bowl to quickly cool and then add to the chicken mushroom mixture.
Stir milk, egg, grated feta and panko together and let rest for 5 minutes or so to make a panade (gives perfect texture to the meatballs). Add to the chicken mushroom mixture.
Gently combine the mixture without squeezing too hard or overworking the meat. Lightly wet your palms and shape the meat into small balls, a little smaller than the size of a golf ball, about 1 1/2 inches, or 1 oz each.
When ready to cook, evenly season meatballs with additional Creole Kitchen. Brown prepared meatballs under a broiler. Brown one side; flip over to brown the other side and cook through, glazing with Pomegranate Molasses, if using. Or may drizzle with Pomegranate Molasses at plating.
Utilize mix for meatballs, meatloaf, kefta, burgers, breakfast sausage, etc. May change ingredients and flavor profile to fit many global/ethnic cuisines.
Roasted Mushrooms
Ingredients
2 pounds Crimini mushrooms, cut in small dice if large, quartered if small
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons P.S. Flavor!™ Creole Kitchen, or Creole seasoning of your choice
Method
Place two baking sheet pans in oven and preheat the oven to 400º F.
In a large bowl, toss the mushrooms with the olive oil and Creole seasoning. Spread in an even layer on the heated baking sheets. Bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and quite dry. They will reduce considerably in volume (by half). Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Grind in grinder or food processor fitted with the steel blade until chopped fine (to the size of hamburger) but still retaining some texture. Makes 1 pound or about 2 cups.
Smokey Shroom Seasoning
Ingredients
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons mushroom powder (dried mushrooms, ground to powder)
2 tablespoons minced onion
2 tablespoons garlic granules
2 tablespoons raw sugar
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon kosher salt, preferably Diamond Crystal
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Method
Blend together all ingredients in a bowl.
Whipped Feta
Ingredients
12 ounces feta, crumbled
4 ounces Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon P.S. Flavor!™ Creole Kitchen, or Creole seasoning of your choice
Method
Place the feta and goat cheese in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse until the cheeses are mixed.
Add the olive oil and the lemon juice, process until creamy. Season to taste with Creole Kitchen or kosher salt and black pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.