from Shroom by Becky Selengut
This is a decadent dish that would make for a fabulous vegetarian comfort-food main course served with a salad, or it could easily be used in a supporting role to a roast chicken. Recently it bumped out my family's traditional Thanksgiving stuffing. Alter baking, cooling, and cutting it into large squares, you could also freeze this for a later date. This is the dish to make if you have a lot of mushrooms on hand and a hungry crowd. I'm clearly not one for an Atkins-Paleo no-carb lifestyle, because when I see the words BREAD+ PUDDING, I get very, very excited. The beech mushrooms contribute nuttiness and earthiness to the dish, but you could very easily substitute whatever mushrooms you might have on hand. I've made this dish with chanterelles, buttons, and mixes of other types with great success.
SERVES:
4
Ingredients
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
¼ cup extra~virgin olive oil
½ cup minced shallot
1¾ teaspoons fine sea salt
6 large cloves garlic, minced
1 pound button mushrooms, medium diced
1 pound beech mushrooms, base trimmed, mushrooms separated but left intact
¼ cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ cup dry (white) vermouth
5 large eggs
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
6 cups day-old 1-inch rustic bread cubes
PAIRING:
French white Burgundy (preferably a Meursault)
Steps
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 by 12-inch baking dish with a little butter. Heat 2 large skillets over medium heat and place 1 1/2 teaspoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil in each skillet (if you don't have 2 large skillets, prepare the mushrooms in batches).
After a moment, evenly divide the shallot and 1 teaspoon of the salt between the skillets and saute for 2 to 3 minutes, until soft. Add half the garlic to each skillet and saute for another minute.
Add half of both kinds of mushrooms to each skillet. Increase the heat to medium-high and saute for 4 to 6 minutes, until the mushrooms have wilted and have started to brown.
At this point, combine everythmg into one skillet. Add the parsley, thyme, sage, tomato paste, mustard, and cayenne. Cook for 1 more minute.
Turn the heat to high and add the vermouth. Reduce until the vermouth has evaporated, and then turn off the heat.
In a very large bowl whisk the eggs. Add the cheese to the eggs and whisk together. Whisk in the half-and-half and cream. Add the bread cubes and mushroom mixture along wnh the remammg ¾ teaspoon salt, and mix together.
Pour the bread mixture into the greased baking dish and bake, covered, for 30 mmutes. Raise the heat to 375°F uncover and bake until browned on top, another 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm.
