Warm Spinach Portobello Tart With Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette Food

PORTOBELLO AND SPINACH BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Place the dried mushrooms in small pot and cover with water or chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and steep.
• Heat a heavy pot over medium to medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan extra-virgin olive oil. When hot, add the butter and melt into the oil then add portabellas. After 6 minutes, add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and bay leaf. Saute until tender, 15 minutes, then separate and add spinach. Season the spinach mixture with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute. Deglaze with wine. Remove the dried mushrooms from the steeping liquid. Chop the mushrooms and stir into the sauce. Add the steeping liquid, reserving the last few spoonfuls as any grit on the mushrooms will have settled at the bottom. Stir in the milk. Simmer over low heat 20 minutes. Cool completely and store for a make-ahead meal.
• Reheat the dish over medium heat. Add a little stock or milk to loosen the sauce up again.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt the water and cook the pasta to al dente. Drain the pasta and toss with sauce. Serve in shallow bowls, topped with parsley and Pecorino cheese.

STEAK SALAD WITH TOMATO VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Make the steak: Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium. Mix the chili powder, brown sugar, cumin and smoked paprika in a small bowl. Season the steaks with salt and pepper and rub with the spice mixture; set aside.
• Make the vinaigrette: Puree the cherry tomatoes, lime juice, adobo sauce and honey in a blender until smooth. With the machine running, add the olive oil and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Brush the steaks with olive oil and grill 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile, brush the red onion slices with olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Grill the onion, turning occasionally, until softened and charred in spots, about 8 minutes. Thinly slice the steak against the grain. Roughly chop the onion.
• Assemble the salad: Divide the lettuce among plates. Top with the onion, steak, avocado, heirloom tomatoes, jicama and queso fresco. Drizzle with about half of the vinaigrette and sprinkle with the cilantro. Serve with the remaining vinaigrette.

PORTOBELLO TART WITH SPRING GREENS AND LIME BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• For the vinaigrette:
• Squeeze the lime juice (from the now cooled lime) through the feed opening of a running blender. With the blender still running, add the vinegar, corn syrup, shallot and rosemary, 1 at a time, and pour the oil in a slow steady stream into the vinegar mixture very slowly to emulsify. Remove to a container and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• For the spring greens:
• Tear the greens into bite-sized pieces, and remove the stems if using arugula. (Make sure greens are no longer wet from being rinsed.) Toss greens with Parmesan, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and set aside.
• For the filling:
• Heat the clarified butter over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the onion and cook for about 15 minutes until translucent and beginning to caramelize, then add the portobellos and white mushrooms to the onions. Cook for another 10 minutes then reduce heat to low and add the tomatoes, chives, salt, and pepper, and allow flavors to integrate.
• For the vol-au-vent (tart pastry):
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Roll out puff pastry dough, and using a 4-inch circle cutter (aka biscuit cutter), cut out 8 dough rounds. Place 4 of the dough rounds on a lightly greased baking sheet. Using a 3-inch circle or biscuit cutter, cut a concentric circle in the middle of the remaining 4-inch dough rounds to create a 1/2-inch wide circle of dough. These 1/2-inch wide circles of dough are to be used without the 3-inch pieces from the center. Place 1 of these 1/2-inch wide circles of dough on top of each of the rounds already on the baking sheet, matching up the edges. Brush egg wash over the surface of each of the paired dough circles and rounds. Then use a fork to prick through the dough around the perimeter (that is, through each dough circle and into the accompanying round beneath it). Place in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. The center of each will rise. Remove pastry shells from oven and allow to cool slightly.
• Using the tip of a butter knife, break through the risen center part of each pastry shell to make a crater. Spoon some of the mushroom mixture into each of these craters. Place some greens on top of each tart and drizzle with lime balsamic vinaigrette.

SWEET SANTA BARBARA SHRIMP WITH ROASTED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM AND HARICOTS VERTS SALAD WITH HEIRLOOM TOMATOES AND A BANYULS VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Chill 4 salad plates. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• In a medium sized bowl add the mushrooms, diced garlic, 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, mix all ingredients together until mushrooms are well coated. Place mushrooms, bottoms down, on a sheet pan, and roast in the oven for 45 minutes or until sweet, juicy, and tender. Remove from oven and dice. Meanwhile, Reduce the remaining 1 3/4 cups balsamic vinegar to a sweet glaze over low heat in a small saucepan.
• Cut the sweet onions in quarters, then slice the onion into very thin julienne. Make sure you slice them so the onion slices do not stick together. Shock the uncooked onions in an ice bath for 4 minutes, strain the onions from the ice bath, set aside.
• Mix the peppercress and baby lettuce together in a large bowl and set aside.
• Season shrimp with salt and pepper and sear in olive oil in a hot pan. Set aside.
• Using a small squirt bottle, or any small plastic container that will withhold a strong shake, add the Banyuls vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Shake for 1 minute, until all is well mixed and salt has dissolved. Add the grapeseed and canola oil and shake again. Add the tomatoes, chives, shallots, haricots verts, and the shrimp to the lettuce mixture, and mix gently and slowly. Add the vinaigrette to lightly coat the coating to all the ingredients. Using chilled salad plates carefully place the salad in layers forming a nice small peak. Garnish with balsamic syrup and serve.

EGGPLANT AND PORTOBELLO (LASAGNAS) WITH ROASTED TOMATO VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange tomatoes and fennel in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Drizzle oil over; toss to blend. Bake until fennel is tender and begins to brown, about 45 minutes. Cool.
• Spray 2 nonstick baking sheets with vegetable oil spray. Arrange eggplant and mushroom slices on prepared sheets. Bake until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes for eggplant slices and 40 minutes for mushrooms. Puree tomato mixture in processor. Transfer to strainer set over bowl. Press on solids to extract liquid; discard solids. Stir vinegar into liquid. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper.
• Stir spinach in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until wilted, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray four 1 1/4-cup custard dishes with vegetable oil spray. Line each dish with 2 eggplant slices in crisscross pattern. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top each with 1/4 of spinach. Top each with 1 mozzarella slice. Arrange pepper strips over, then basil and mushrooms. Top with remaining eggplant slices, cutting to fit. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover each dish with foil. (Vinaigrette and lasagnas can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately; chill.)
• Bake lasagnas until very tender, about 25 minutes. Remove foil. Using small knife, cut around vegetables to loosen. Invert onto plates. Spoon vinaigrette over.

PORTABELLA SALAD WITH BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• MUSHROOMS: Cut stems off mushrooms& reserve for another use (soup?) or discard.
• Using a spoon, carefully scrape gills off mushroom caps& discard; brush top of caps.
• Brush small roasting pan with some of the oil& sprinkle with half the salt.
• Place mushrooms in pan, drizzle with remaining oil, sprinkle with remaining salt& pepper.
• Place 2 or 3 slices of garlic& 2 sprigs of thyme on each mushroom.
• Roast in preheated 450F oven until tender, about 10 minutes.
• Let cool; discard garlic& thyme.
• This may be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
• VINAIGRETTE: Whisk vinegar with mustard.
• Slowly drizzle in the oil, whisking continuously, until emulsified.
• Whisk in seasonings.
• This can be made ahead& refrigerated for up to 3 days.
• ASSEMBLY: Toss spinach& arugula with vinaigrette in a large bowl.
• Divide among 4 dinner plates, top with mushrooms, proscuitto& cheese.

PORTOBELLO-SPINACH SALAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk the first seven ingredients; set aside., In a large skillet, saute mushroom and onion in oil until tender. In a serving bowl, combine the spinach, mushroom mixture and tomatoes. Drizzle with dressing; toss to coat. Sprinkle with cheese.