130. Mushroom Barley Soup (p. 113)

I used to have an aversion to mushrooms. Maybe aversion is too strong a word. But, I really didn't like them, that's for sure. One of my goals in this Project, however, is to broaden my food horizons, and get over any lingering food hang-ups that I may have. I would have never guessed that a recipe calling for two pounds of mushrooms would turn out to be one of my favorite dishes of the Project so far, but it is.

This recipe is not very complicated, but it does take a couple of hours. First, I soaked some dried porcini mushrooms in some boiling water. While the porcinis were doing their thing, I started cooking some garlic and chopped onions in some oil in my large Dutch oven. When the onions were nice and golden, I added two pounds of sliced white onions and the dried onions. (I skipped the soy sauce called for by The Book ... I'm cooking soy free these days.) Once most of the liquid cooked off from the mushrooms (they give off a lot of liquid) I added some cooking sherry and boiled that until it evaporated. Then I added some chicken broth (store bought, sorry), water, the soaking liquid from the porcinis (strained through a paper towel to get rid of any grit from the dried mushrooms). To that I added some sliced carrots, dried pearl barley and some dried rosemary and tyhme. I let the whole thing simmer for about an hour. Just before serving, I added some salt, pepper and a healthy handful of chopped fresh parsley.

This soup was excellent. I mean, really, really good. It was rich, hearty and intensely flavorful. The barley, white mushrooms and carrots give the soup heft and substance. I enjoyed this soup with some crusty bread and a glass of red wine. A perfect dinner.

One of the things that struck me about this soup was its "meaty" flavor. But how can that be? There isn't any beef in this soup. Well, it turns out that the meaty flavor that we love in steaks and beef stew is umami, one of the five basic tastes sensed by our tongues. Umami is the savory or meaty flavor that we perceive in meat, cheese and fermented foods (like miso). It's the tongue's reaction to glutamates, the amino acids that are plentiful in these foods. Well, two other foods that have lots of glutamates are onions and mushrooms, and there are plenty of them in this soup, meaning plenty of umami and plenty of meaty flavor.

Another food science note. As I mentioned a little while ago, I'm trying to cook wheat-, dairy- and soy-free these days because my three-month-old son's intolerance to one or all of these things is limiting my wife's diet. We decided to give this recipe a try because, according to my Oxford Companion to Food, barley contains much less gluten than wheat. Well, much less was still too much, and little Jack had a reaction (green poo ... not that you asked).

So, that means that I'll be enjoying the three quart-sized containers of leftover soup myself. And, that's just fine by me.

Date Cooked: March 28, 2009
Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Rating: A

58. Risotto with Porcini (p. 256)

As the weather starts to get cooler, I begin to crave comfort food. And one of my favorite comfort foods in risotto. Mushrooms, however, are not a favorite food of mine. So, it was with some hesitation that I made this recipe.* But with my first bite, all of that hesitation fell away, and I just might be a mushroom fan after all.

The recipe starts with soaking dried porcini mushrooms in warm chicken stock and water and a little bit of oil. Then, the mushrooms are drained, rinsed, chopped and set aside. Don't discard that soaking liquid! Strain it through a paper-towel-lined sieve and put it in a saucepan with more chicken stock and bring it to a simmer. This is the liquid that will be added, bit by bit, to the risotto as it cooks. (Note to self: You just used up the last of your frozen, homemade chicken stock. Time to make some more.)

Then, it's on to the rice. First, melt some butter in a pan (rather than the 4-quart saucepan suggested by The Book, I used my trusty 12-inch Calphalon non-stick "Everyday" pan) and soften some chopped onion. Then add the Arborio rice and cook for a few minutes. Then, start adding the cooking liquid, one-half-cup at a time, stirring constantly until the liquid is absorbed, before adding more liquid. After about 20 minutes, the rice is creamy and tender, but still a little bit firm. To finish off the dish, add some more butter, the chopped mushrooms, a good amount of grated Parmaigiano-Reggiano, and some salt and pepper.

What a great recipe! I really enjoyed this. The flavor is rich, earthy, and luxurious. This dish is as comforting to make as it is to eat. There's something calming about standing in front of a warm stove for a half-hour slowly stirring and methodically adding little bits of cooking liquid. I served this with some steamed broccoli rabbe, which was a nice pairing. I will definitely make this recipe again.

Date Cooked: September 28, 2008
Degree of Difficulty: Medium
Rating: A

*The epicurious recipe I've linked to is not the same as the one in The Book, but they have a lot of similarities. The Book's recipe, which is not online, is simpler than the epicurous recipe, and does not call for soy sauce or wine.

21. Coquilles St. Jaques (p. 320)

In honor of Bastille Day, I decided to make a classic French dish. Coquilles St. Jaques (Scallops with Mushrooms in White Wine Sauce) is about as classically French as you can get.

This recipe is very fussy and time consuming. But, I wouldn't have it any other way. Sometimes you have to work hard for really great food, and this dish is worth all the effort. Even though the recipe is complicated, The Book's instructions are clear and easy to follow. I never ran into any trouble. This also wasn't a cheap dish. A pound of sea scallops costs a king's ransom at Whole Foods. And when you're making a dish like this, you can't skimp on quality, so when the recipe calls for Parmigiano-Reggiano, you've got to get the real stuff.

This dish is all about the sauce. It starts with simmering white wine, water, onion and a bay leaf. Then in with the scallops for just a few minutes (they cook pretty fast). As they cook, the scallops take on the flavor of the wine, and in exchange, they impart their uniquely sweet taste on the sauce. What a great trade. Out with the scallops, reduce the sauce, then strain out the onions and bay leaf, and set it aside. The mushrooms are sauteed in butter and set aside. And if it wasn't French enough yet, here's where it gets tres Francais. You make a roux of butter and flour (a first for me!) and then whisk in the reduced wine sauce. This then gets slowly whisked into a mixture of cream and egg yolk. The result is a rich, silky, creamy and fragrant sauce. The scallops and mushrooms are combined with the sauce, divided into scallop shells or ramekins (I used ramekins because I couldn't find any shells), topped with breadcrumbs and Parmigiano-Reggiano, and broiled for a couple of minutes to make a nice crust.

Coquilles St. Jaques is traditionally served in scallop shells in honor of St. James, one of the Twelve Apostles, whose symbol is the scallop shell. According to legend, the apostle saved a knight covered in scallop shells. Pilgrims making their way to St. James's shrine at Santiago de Compostela in Spain carried scallop shells with them. Along the way, the pilgrims stopped at houses, churches and abbeys and asked for a donation of as much food as would fit in a shell. If they got a shell-full of Coquilles St. Jaques, they'd be happy and satisfied pilgrims. Chances are, however, that Medieval pilgrims would get a scoop of oats or barley.

My photo above doesn't do this dish justice. I'm in a fight with my oven lately. It's taking too long to heat up, but once it gets going, there's no stopping it, so it sometimes gets too hot. As a result, the crust on my Coquilles got a little more browned than I wanted (OK, it burned a litte). The blackened top aside, this is probably the best thing I've made in The Project so far. The scallops were sweet and tender. The cheese and breadcrumb crust was crisp and delicious. And the sauce! The sauce was rich without being overbearing. It was velvety and smooth and the flavor was amazing. This was truly a special meal, worthy of a special occasion.

Happy Bastille Day!
Liberté, Egalité and Fraternité!

Date Cooked: July 13, 2008
Degree of Difficulty: Pretty Hard
Rating: A