The dish with the very long name.
What a mouthful! I'm not sure what to call this concoction, other than the unwieldy name at the top of this post. The photo doesn't do a good job showing the portobello mushrooms, flattened underneath the weight of all that layered stuffing. The mashed potatoes in the middle are actually mixed with a white bean puree, with green le puy lentils draped over that, and a nice red wine sauce—i.e. gravy, if you must.
I like meals that contain many components. Stacking, layering, building texture upon texture—here's an example, and here's another. A meal oozing with sauce, a sturdy plank of mushroom or polenta, a meaty filling, a creamy topping, and loads of taste. These meals don't happen every night—they're somewhat complicated to prepare, though not as difficult as you might think. Many parts can be made ahead of time, and with two people working together in the kitchen, prep is a breeze.
With my husband as sous chef, we created this masterpiece in just under an hour. And with plenty left over, we're having it again tonight. The potato-bean mixture and the lentils would be an excellent meal on their own, or perhaps with some other component. (I particularly love layering slabs of polenta with rich bean mixtures.)
I served this with a side of sauteed spinach. Just the right accompaniment.
Here's how we did it:
Portobellos with Potato and White Bean Stuffing, French Green Lentils, and Red Wine Sauce
Lentils:
4-6 large portobello mushrooms or any large mushroom
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion (yellow or red), sliced thin
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup green le puy lentils, rinsed
3/4 cup red wine
2 cups vegetable stock (See note)
Potato and bean stuffing:
1 large or 2 medium potatoes, peeled and chunked
1 can white beans (cannellini, navy, Great Northern, etc.), rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
reserved cooking water from the potato OR 2 tablespoons soy milk
Red wine sauce:
1 cup red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 teaspoon cornstarch
To fry the mushrooms:
2 tablespoons olive oil
parsley, for garnish (optional)
First, start the lentils: Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet; add the mushroom pieces and the onion slices. Saute for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and the lentils, red wine, and stock. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring often, until the lentils are cooked.
Boil the potato for 10 minutes. Drain (reserving a small amount of the cooking water, if desired) and place in a large bowl. Mash with a potato masher or ricer. Add a bit of potato water or soymilk, just enough to make the potatoes easy to stir with a spoon. Place the beans in a food processor along with the garlic and olive oil. Whiz until the beans are smooth, adding 1-2 tablespoons of potato water or plain water. Stir the pureed beans into the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and keep warm.
In another skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Place the mushrooms and fry over medium heat, about 4 minutes on each side. Remove from the skillet and keep warm. (Place on aluminum foil, fold over the foil, and place in a warm oven until the remaining components are ready.)
To make the red wine sauce: Pour the red wine into the same skillet you fried the mushrooms. Add the tomato paste and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer over medium low heat for about 15 minutes. The mixture should reduce and thicken. Just before removing from heat, add the teaspoon of cornstarch and whisk until smooth.
Place a mushroom or two on a plate. Scoop the potato bean mixture on top of each mushroom. Spoon the lentil mixture over the potatoes. Then pour the red wine sauce over the top, letting it pool generously around the mushrooms.
Garnish with snipped parsley if desired.
Note on ingredients: For vegetable stock, you might want to use mushroom stock. If you don't have any, but have dried porcini mushrooms, soak a 1/2 cup or so in 2 cups hot water 20 minutes to make a rich mushroom stock. If you use your own vegetable stock you may want to add salt, as most commercial brands contain plenty of salt. French le puy lentils are green lentils, and have a better taste and texture than brown lentils. Beluga (black) lentils would also work.