Recipe: Portobello steaks from Ottolenghi’s new book Flavour
Yotam Ottolenghi, the king of vegetables, has a new cookbook: Flavour. Since he knows better than anyone how to put vegetables in the spotlight, he shares magical vegetable recipes with Ixta Belfrage in his new cookbook. The book is divided into three parts, showing you how to make the most of vegetables and put delicious dishes, such as these portobello steaks, on the table.
“We don’t particularly like calling vegetables a ‘steak’, ‘burger’ or ‘schnitzel’, because it feels as though you’re trying to pass them off as something else, something better. Vegetables are simply fantastic as they are. In fact, they’re the very best! Sometimes, however, a meaty name helps us understand what a dish is about and how delicious it is. Our portobellos really aren’t trying to pretend to be a steak; they’re simply just as delicious as any steak (with mash), if not more so, in the same way that our pointed-pepper schnitzels are just as delicious as any other schnitzel.
What gives the mushrooms their ‘elan’ is the chillies and spices, and all the aromatic oil they are coated in. You will make more oil than you need here; store it in the fridge in a tightly sealed jar and use it to drizzle over grilled vegetables, noodles, meat or fish. Serve some sautéed vegetables alongside this dish, to taste.”
How to make the portobello steaks
- Preheat the oven to 150°C.
- For the steaks, put all the ingredients with 1 tablespoon of sea salt flakes in a large ovenproof pan with a lid. Place the mushrooms in it, rounded side up, cover them with a sheet of baking paper, and press it down slightly so that all the ingredients are covered. Put the lid on the pan and place it in the oven for 1 hour. Turn the mushrooms over, replace the paper and lid, and return the pan to the oven for 20 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender as butter but do not fall apart. Transfer the mushrooms to a chopping board using kitchen tongs, halve them and set aside.
- Use a tablespoon to scoop the onion, garlic and chilli (remove the stem) from the pan – it’s fine if you scoop up some spices and oil as well. Put everything in the small bowl of a food processor and purée until smooth. Return the puréed onion mixture to the pan, add the halved mushrooms and place over medium-high to high heat. Gently simmer everything for about 5 minutes, until the flavours meld.
- While the mushrooms are cooking, make the purée. Put the beans in a food processor with the lemon juice, olive oil, . teaspoon of sea salt flakes and 2 tablespoons of water. Purée everything until completely smooth. Transfer the purée to a medium-sized pan and cook over medium-high to high heat, stirring, for about 3 minutes, until thoroughly warmed through.
- To serve, divide the lima bean purée between four plates. Place four mushroom halves on each plate and spoon a generous amount of the flavour-packed oil over them (you won’t need all of it – see the introduction).
Title: Flavour
Author: Yotam Ottolenghi
Price: €32
Publisher: Fontaine Uitgevers
Read also:
