alteRecipes.com recipe
derived from Mollie Katzen and Walt Willett's
Eat, Drink, and Weigh Less, pages 242 and 197
| 1. | dried porcini mushrooms | ¼ ounce |
| red wine | ½ cup | |
| 2. | olive oil | 1 ½ Tablespoons |
| yellow onion | 1 whole chopped rough | |
| shallot | 1 whole chopped fine | |
| garlic | 6 whole cloves chopped rough | |
| 3. | kasha | ½ cup |
| egg (optional) | 1, slightly beaten | |
| 5. | dark meat or lentils (optional) | 1 oz. |
| Wondra | 2 Tablespoons | |
| 6. | fresh mushrooms | ¼ pound, sliced |
| baby spinach | 2 handfuls | |
| fresh thyme leaves | 1 teaspoon | |
| 7. | small whole-wheat bowtie pasta | ¼ cup |
| 9. | broth (meat or vegetable) | 1 cup |
| 10. | scallions | 3 chopped rough |
| fresh dill | 1 Tablespoons chopped rough | |
| black pepper | to taste |
1. Microwave the mushrooms and red wine to rehydrate the mushrooms.
2. Put the oil in a cold stovetop-to-oven casserole. Put in the onion, shallot, and garlic and stir till every bit is moistened with the oil. Put the casserole on a brisk flame and let it sit undisturbed till the onions and shallots brown a little and you can start to smell the garlic, 3-4 minutes. Stir the mixture once and let it sit undisturbed till the onions and shallots resume browning, 2-3 minutes.
3. Turn down the heat under the casserole. Add the kasha and the beaten egg to the casserole and stir them in. Keep stirring until the egg is cooked, 1 minute. Then let the kasha cook undisturbed over a low flame till it's toasted, 4-5 minutes.
4. Preheat your oven to 350°. Fill a medium-sized covered pot ¾ full with water and salt it to taste.
5. Turn the heat under the casserole back up to high. Add the chicken liver and the flour. Let the liver cook a little on one side, flip it to cook on the other side, then with a sharp knife in your dominant hand and tongs in your helper hand cut it into thin slices.
6. Toss in the mushrooms, spinach, and thyme, and stir them around to wilt the spinach.
7. In a separate pot, cook the pasta till it's a bit underdone, then remove it from the pasta water with a slotted spoon and add it to the kasha.
8. Fish the dried mushrooms out of the red wine, snip them into tiny pieces with a scissors, and add them to the kasha.
9. Add to the red wine left in the microwavable bowl enough broth and pasta water to make approximately 2 ½ cups of liquid. Microwave the liquid till it's hot but not boiling and stir in into the kasha.
10. Divide the chopped scallions and dill in half. Stir one half into the casserole and set the other aside to use as garnish. Stir in black pepper to taste.
11. Cover the casserole and bake it in the oven for half an hour.
12. Take it out of the oven and put a dishtowel between the top and the main part of the casserole. Let it sit undisturbed for 15-20 minutes. Fluff it with a fork, serve immediately, and pass the garnishes.