Ragout of Shiitake Mushrooms, Butter Beans & Southern Greens
—Not On Website, Dragonwagon
Ingredients
Vegetable oil cooking spray (optional)
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ pound shiitake mushrooms, cleaned, tough part of stems removed, coarsely sliced or halved
3-4 cloves garlic, pressed
2 cups tender-cooked Camellia Brand Large Lima Beans
3 ½ cups good commercial tomato sauce from a jar (not canned)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Honey (optional)
1 bunch hearty greens such as kale, turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens or Swiss chard, washed and sliced crosswise into very slender ribbons
Cooked cheese grits, for serving
Freshly shaved Parmesan cheese, for serving
Directions
Put a large pot of water, covered, on to boil over high heat.
Spray a large skillet with oil (unless it’s non-stick). Place the skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. When the oil thins slightly, add the shiitakes and sauté until they start to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook, stirring until the mushrooms start to stick to the skillet, a few minutes more.
Add the cooked butter beans and the tomato sauce to the skillet, turn the heat to very low, and heat through, stirring occasionally. Taste and correct the seasonings with salt and pepper, maybe a drop of honey. Remove from the heat.
When the water is boiling, drop in the sliced greens and blanch them quickly, just until they get limp and their color brightens. (The blanching process is very quick, but timing varies depending on the tenderness of the green and how thin it is sliced. Chard will be done almost instantly; collards may take 40 seconds.) Carefully drain the greens in a colander (save the blanching water for stock, if you like) and quickly pour cold water over them to stop the cooking.
Stir about one quarter of the blanched greens into the hot mushroom ragout, reserving the remainder.
Serve as follows: A big ladleful of grits goes in the center of the plate, with the middle slightly hollowed to make a nest for a good-size spoonful of the ragout. Top the ragout with a little tangle of the bright green blanched greens, and add shaved Parmesan.