If you’ve ever felt bored by tilapia, or any other white fish, this recipe will totally change your mind. The sauce, the mushrooms, the crispy prosciutto! None of those are necessarily served with such a delicate piece of seafood traditionally, but that doesn’t mean we can’t give it a go. Trust me—tilapia smothered in cream sauce is delicious! I recommend crusty bread for scooping it all up, of course. And the crispy prosciutto makes this dish shine and feel a little more special.
This is the best chicken dish I’ve ever made. You will want to lick the skillet clean, the sauce is so damn good! I upped the recipe so there’s enough to dunk plenty of bread in or to serve over rice. While this dish is a big wow, the ingredients are far from fancy. The baby bella mushrooms (aka creminis) have a lighter flavor than portobellos and a richer flavor than white buttons (don’t stress—white shrooms play nicely). Congrats! You’ve just mastered a restaurant pan sauce, which you can flex on pork chops, steak, or fish fillets. Go ahead, lick the skillet—just promise me you’ll let the pan cool down first!
This is my take on the classic black and blue steak salad that I enjoyed back in my steak-eating days, but I use mushrooms as a substitute. Mushrooms have this “meaty” texture going on and once they absorb whatever marinade or sauce you cook them in, it really helps to bring out their umami flavors. They become so flavorful and juicy and are perfect on top of this familiar classic. Every time Alex eats this salad, he always says “Mmm!” Which as you know is one of the biggest compliments. Mushrooms are one of his faves and he loves it when I prepare them this way.
Buckwheat is the most popular grain in Slavic cuisine. When a crisis hits any Slavic country, buckwheat is usually the first thing that disappears from grocery store shelves. That’s how much people rely on it in their diet. I was never crazy about buckwheat when I was a kid. But when mom made me this soup, everything changed. It has the most alluring deep flavor of buckwheat and mushrooms with the right balance of sweetness and earthiness. It’s just like being wrapped in a cozy blanket and taking an autumn walk in a forest. I love eating this soup piping hot with the darkest rye bread I can find.
This earthy, tangy main dish shares a sauce similar to my Pomegranate Sriracha Shrimp, but the tofu, soy sauce, and vegetables turn it into something distinctively delicious. Tofu is typically deep-fried for dishes like this one, but panfrying is a healthier way to inject richness and character. For texture, complexity, and color, I add mushroom and mild-tasting chiles. Anaheims are my go-to but during the warmer months when chiles are in season, I love to use varieties such as Hatch and Corno di Toro. In a major pinch, half a large bell pepper will do.
Chicken Marsala is one of those dishes that's found on just about every Italian restaurant menu, but the dish is usually swimming in butter. So I've lightened it up.
Reprinted from the November 2008 issue of Gourmet magazine. Recipe by Maggie Ruggiero.