STILL NEW YORK-HUNGRY

39. Lynne's Mushroom Delights (2 in 1 not-so-much-carbs)

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Lynne MacIsaac is the co-owner of the Meat Me, a restaurant in Munich City Center modeled on the Empire Diner on 10th avenue in Manhattan where she met her later husband (and other co-owner), Benjamin Stadler, or Benni.

Both are the substitute parents of my novel series' / many-a-short's FMC, Laura Zimmermann. Also Laura "re-meets" MMC, Vincent Romano there (whom she already "met" earlier that day) in the first novel... and many times over.

But back to Lynne, who's Canadian (from Nova Scotia), by the way, and has a son named Brett, who runs the restaurant's bar... and is Benni's adopted son. The two met after Lynne scratched together her last money in a bout of irrationality and traveled to New York with little Brett after being dumped by Brett's father, running into Benni at the Empire.

She's not a vegan, or a vegetarian, but simply doesn't love meat as much as her work place implies. She's a flexitarian (like Laura, by the way.)

She loves going different culinary ways and creating alternatives for the meat dishes which are usually served at the Meat Me. This also rubbed off a bit on Laura. One of the first dishes she tries in her kitchen when learning to really cook, is Lynne's mushroom bolo.

Also, in novel 4 (yup, I'm thinking ahead!), she'll have a strike of genius and create a very simple but also very unique little – and literal! – vegetarian mushroom burger, which she gives Laura and Vince to try out among the first.


Inspired were both dishes by German Cook Björn Freitag, the bolo from the 10/26 TV-episode of Einfach & köstlich and the mushroom burger from his vegetarian cookbook, Einfach & Köstlich (Simple & Tasty) (The latter was really just inspiration; I did my ow twist on the recipe but needed the recipe's prep orders for the portobellos)


Okay, enough babble! Here we go!


Serves: 4 servings Bolo; 1-2 serving(s) Portobello-burgers

Prep Time: 1.5 hrs Bolo; 45 minutes Portobello-burgers, PLUS time to make "36. Red Cabbage Salad (fruit & veg carbs)" 

Degree of Difficulty: Easy both



WE NEED


MUSHROOM "BOLOGNESE"


600 gr / 1.3 lb. mixed mushrooms Like champignons, chanterelles, king oyster, porcini
2 garlic cloves
1 red onion
1 carrot
1 stick celery The rest of the bunch you can use as a base for a veg soup
400 gr / 0.9 lb. chopped tomatoes Can, I admit it.

1 tbsp tomato puree The rest use could use in a pizza sauce, like me does, or in the veg soup, for extra Oomph!

100 ml / 3.4 US fl.oz. red wine I use Puglia, because it's light, a bit fruity but NOT too sweet
And Vince's fave.

2-3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp dried Italian herbs = oregano, basil + rosemary. Those were OUT, though, so I used Provencal, which consisted of rosemary, thyme, oregano + savory.

1 pinch chili powder
2 bayleaves
1 pinch sugar
black pepper (freshly) grounded
basil leaves for decoration

Parmegiano Reggiano for on top, and ONLY that, because that's the real one, from Italy, and NOT the inferior mix that's sold as it by supermarkets.




PORTOBELLO-"BURGER"

4 Portobellos = Giant champignons; mine were between 3 - 5 in!
1 tbsp oil for frying, like Canola
Salt
Pepper
2 stems fresh parsley
4 tbsp coconut flakes

"36. Red Cabbage Salad (fruit & veg carbs)"  as "patty" / topping




WE DO


Mushroom "BOLOGNESE"


1. Brush clean + finely chop the mushrooms. Or blitz them in a food processor, what I did. Finely chop garlic + onion. Clean + finely chop the remaining vegs.


2. Fry mushrooms SANS oil in a pan. Add onion + garlic and lightly sauté before adding the remaining vegs. Fry for 5 minutes on high heat. Since frying mushrooms emit water, nothing will burn. Eventually, add the tomato puree and briefly roast, before




3. deglazing with red wine and adding the chopped (canned) tomatoes.





4. Season with salt, pepper, sugar, dried herbs, chili, soy sauce + bayleaves and let simmer for 20 minutes. Then, chop+ add half of the basil.


5. While the bolo simmers, cook the pasta/spaghetti al dente according to package instructions. Grate some parmesan from the wedge.


6. SERVING: fill the pasta into a deep plate, put bolo on top and garnish with fresh basil leaves + parmesan.




Mushroom BURGER


1. Make "36. Red Cabbage Salad (fruit & veg carbs)" . Best the day before so the salad can sit overnight and the aromas meld


2. Preheat the oven to 160°C / 320°C fan/convection. If necessary, brush the Portobellos clean with a brush, and cut off the stem bases.




3. In a pan, heat oil and fry the Portobellos first on the caps and then on the undersides. Use REALLY LITTLE oil as the mushrooms lose water when fried and with too much oil the mushrooms rather get cooked than fried


4. Place Portobellos with the cap under on a baking tray lined with baking paper and season them with salt + pepper. Top the halves – not all when you want to make actual burgers – with "36. Red Cabbage Salad (fruit & veg carbs)" . Top the "burgers" with the "free" caps.


5. Put them into the oven for 10 minutes. And STAY with them... mine almost burned


6. For extra Oomph!, you can pluck apart fresh parsley, and garnish the "burgers" with it, and the coconut flakes. I didn't as I don't like coconut.


Guten Hunger, all!