Mushroom Tartines
& IRL cooking classes in San Francisco
I’ve never been a sandwich-for-dinner gal, with the exception of grilled cheese & tomato soup. Meal kits, they love a dinner sandwich. Open-faced sandwiches, on the other hand! A fine dinner paired with a salad, a cup of soup and a glass of crisp white wine. A very chic 90’s Ina Garten Francophile dinner.
Here’s the story behind these mushroom tartines (French for ‘a slice of bread’). I originally developed these toasts for an episode of the food waste travel series I culinary produced for A&E called Scraps. The ep was set in Portland, OR and the goal was to create a no-waste recipe that used PNW-ish ingredients. Think mushrooms, Pinot Noir + local sourdough - a recipe Mad Libs, of sorts. The cool thing about this recipe is that you use the entire mushroom, stem and all. The stems are sautéed until golden, then blitzed in a food processor with white beans. If you’ve been on a brothy bean kick, this is a great way transform them into something that barely resembles brothy beans.
Mushroom Tartines
Makes 4 toasts
Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs. mixed mushrooms (such as maitake, king trumpet, oyster or shiitake)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
½ cup Pinot Noir or dry red wine
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained, or 2 cups cooked white beans
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
4 pieces crusty sourdough bread, grilled or toasted
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Flaky, salt, for serving
Fresh parsley and/or thinly sliced radicchio, for serving
Directions:
Separate mushroom stems from caps; finely mince stems, roughly chop or tear caps, divide stems + caps and set aside.
We’re going cook the stems and caps separately in two batches. Heat half the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add stems and half the thyme; cook until mushrooms release their liquid and start to brown, adding half the shallots towards the end of cooking to sweat. You will likely need more olive oil to keep the mushrooms glistening throughout cooking. Towards the end of cooking, season with salt. Add half the wine; cook until dry. Remove from skillet and let cool slightly.
Repeat the same process with mushroom stems, oil, butter, thyme, shallots and wine. Keep warm.
Place cooled mushroom stems and beans into a high-speed blender. Process until smooth, adding a little water (or bean soaking liquid) if needed to achieve a thick, smooth, spreadable texture. Add sherry vinegar, salt and pepper to until it tastes balanced.
To assemble, spread mushroom steam-bean mixture on top of each piece of toast, top with warm sautéed mushroom caps, flaky salt, parsley/radicchio and a drizzle of olive oil.
Why Do I Have you Salt the Mushrooms Towards the End?
Mushrooms love heat and oil. I find that if you introduce salt too early in the cooking process, they don’t brown as quickly and get a bit rubbery. Once they release their liquid and start to brown, it’s time to season with salt.
San Francisco Cooking Classes
I am excited to announce I started teaching recreational cooking classes at The Civic Kitchen here in San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood. After years of running the cooking school at Sur La Table in NYC, and other schools like The Brooklyn Kitchen, Haven’s Kitchen and Hudson Table, I sorely missed teaching IRL!
I love empowering my students to try new techniques, ingredients and recipes for the first time (or the hundredth). Classes are open to all skill levels. I meet you where you are.
I recently taught a Bay Area Farmers Market class - the menu included these Mushroom Tartines! I also taught a SF Steakhouse class with a record-breaking waitlist. It’s returning for a second time on February 7th.
I’ll be teaching new classes about 2x/month. And don’t be deterred by ‘date night’ - I had a bunch of single gals show up to my class the other week. Come one, come all! Sign up using the links below.
Upcoming Cooking Classes at The Civic Kitchen:
Friday, February 7th 6pm: Date Night: San Francisco Steakhouse
Whipped Beet & Pistachio Dip
Baked Brie with Garlic Butter Mushrooms
Seared Ribeye Steaks with Rosemary
Italian Salsa Verde
Smash-Roasted Potatoes
Kale & Fennel Caesar Salad
Chocolate Budino with Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream
Thursday, February 27th: Date Night: San Francisco Cioppino
Best of the Bay Snack Board
Crab Louie Boats
Green Goddess Salad
Grilled Sourdough with Spring Garlic Butter
Cioppino (Fisherman’s Stew)
Irish Coffee Panna Cotta
Here’s a look at my recent Farmers Market class, including those Mushroom Tartines! “Save room for cake!”
The menus for your cooking classes look amazing!