Shiitake Mushrooms And Sugar Snap Peas Recipes

CHICKEN WITH CREAMY MUSHROOMS AND SNAP PEAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet. Dredge 2 chicken cutlets in flour, shake off any excess and place in the skillet. Cook until golden, about 1 1/2 minutes per side; transfer to a baking dish. Repeat with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the other 2 chicken cutlets. Cover the dish loosely with foil; place in the oven while you prepare the vegetables.
• Add the butter to the hot skillet, then add the scallions and mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms brown, about 4 minutes. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the cream and boil until the sauce thickens slightly, 3 to 4 more minutes. Stir in the snap peas and heat through; season with salt and pepper. Serve the chicken topped with the creamy vegetables.
• Photography by Antonis Achilleos

SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS AND SUGAR-SNAP PEAS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the canola and sesame oils over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are just beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the sugar over the mushrooms and then add the wine and soy sauce. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
• Add the sugar-snap peas, cover, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the pea pods are just crisp-tender and bright green, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

SNAP PEAS AND SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS IN SCALLION CREPES WITH LEMON ZEST

Steps:

• To make the crepes, pass the 8 whole scallions one at a time through a juicer, then run the milk through the juicer to extract all the juice. Whisk the eggs into the mixture. Combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Pouring in a thin, steady stream, slowly whisk the scallion-and-milk mixture into the flour, and keep on whisking until the batter is very smooth. Whisk in the butter, the lemon zest, the thinly sliced scallion and 5 tablespoons of water. Allow the batter to rest at room temperature for at least half an hour and preferably for 2 hours.
• To make the filling, heat the olive oil in a medium skillet set over high heat until it just starts to smoke. Add the peas and quickly saute them until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the peas to a bowl. Add the mushrooms to the skillet, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the peas.
• Return the skillet to high heat and then add 1/4cup water, the lemon juice and lemon zest to the pan. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan, until the liquid is reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Pour the liquid over the mushrooms and peas, toss them and season to taste with salt.
• When ready to serve, heat an 8-inch crepe or omelet pan over medium high heat. Brush the bottom of the pan with a little olive oil and coat it with crepe batter (tilt the pan to make the crepes as thin as possible). Turn the crepe almost immediately and cook the other side until lightly browned. Then transfer to a plate and repeat until all the batter is used, placing the cooked crepes between layers of wax paper.
• Place about 1/4 cup of the mushroom-pea mixture (rewarm it if necessary) on each crepe and carefully roll them up. Serve immediately.

NOODLE BOWL WITH SOBA, ENOKI MUSHROOMS, SUGAR SNAP PEAS AND TOFU

Steps:

• To make the broth, combine dried mushrooms, scallions or leek, kombu, carrots, and water in a saucepan or soup pot and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Place a strainer over a bowl and line with cheesecloth. Drain broth and return to pot. Season to taste with soy sauce, salt or both.
• Bring broth to a simmer. Add enoki mushrooms, tofu and sugar snap peas and simmer 2 to 3 minutes. If noodles have been refrigerated, warm by placing them in a strainer and dipping strainer into the simmering broth.
• Distribute noodles among 4 deep or wide soup bowls. Add the white and light green parts of the scallions and chopped cilantro, cover and turn off heat. Allow to sit for 3 minutes.
• Ladle soup into bowls, taking care to distribute tofu, sugar snap peas, enokis and scallions evenly. Sprinkle dark green parts of the scallions over each serving, garnish with cilantro sprigs, and serve.

SPRING RAMEN BOWL WITH SNAP PEAS AND ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus and set the top parts aside. Combine the tough asparagus ends, mushrooms, garlic and 9 cups water in a stockpot or saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add kombu, remove from the heat, and let stand for 30 minutes. Strain out and discard the solids and return the broth to the stockpot.
• While the broth is simmering, prepare the frizzled scallions, if using: Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a small skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Test temperature by adding a piece of scallion; it should sizzle on contact. Add scallions and cook, stirring frequently, until brown all over but not burned. Use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with salt and allow to cool. (Use within a few hours.)
• In a tall glass or measuring cup, combine miso and a ladleful of hot broth. Purée thoroughly with an immersion blender until smooth. (Alternately, carefully purée in a blender.) Pour mixture back into the stockpot and bring to a bare simmer. Add salt and taste, adding more if necessary. Keep covered over low heat until ready to serve.
• Use a vegetable peeler to shave the asparagus spears into ribbons. (It's easiest to do this by laying them flat on a cutting board, and using a Y peeler.)
• Bring another saucepan of salted water to boil and prepare an ice bath. Remove the fibrous strings from the snap peas. (To do so, pinch one end and pull along the straight edge of the pea as if it's a zipper.) Once the water comes to a boil, add snap peas and blanch for 90 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to transfer peas to the ice bath. Reserve the boiling water.
• Add noodles to the boiling water, in a strainer or the pasta insert that comes with a stockpot, and cook until tender, usually 4 to 7 minutes for dried or 60 to 90 seconds for fresh. Lift out the noodles, reserving the cooking water, and rinse the noodles thoroughly under cold running water. Quickly dunk them back into the hot water to reheat. Divide among four bowls.
• Just before serving, wave the nori squares over the flame of a gas burner a few times, until the corners curl and they turn crisp, or roast under a broiler, flipping periodically. Slice into thin strips with a chef's knife or crumble with your fingers.
• Arrange asparagus, snap peas and egg halves, if using, over the noodles in each bowl. Add a pinch of lemon zest and a few gratings of ginger to each bowl, then cover with the piping hot broth. Divide frizzled scallions on top, if using, then garnish each serving with a few drops of sesame oil and the nori. Serve immediately.