where the meat is.
Plum season tapers out as we get deeper into the fall; if local plums are no longer available when you make this, use cooking apples instead.
6 burger-size portobello mushroom caps (3½ ounces / 100 g each)
1¼ pounds / 560 g brown mushrooms
Olive oil for cooking
Grated zest of 1 organic lemon
Fine sea salt
2 small red onions (4¼ ounces / 120 g each), minced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
10 ounces / 280 g plums, pitted and chopped
⅔ cup / 65 g hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
1 cup / 20 g fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Brush all the mushrooms gently with a damp towel to remove any trace of dirt; trim their stems as needed. Arrange the portobello mushroom caps, gill-side up, on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the lemon zest and a little salt.
2. Cut the brown mushrooms into ½-inch / 1 cm dice.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often to avoid coloring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the diced mushrooms and ½ teaspoon salt, stir, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the chopped plums and cook until the mushrooms are cooked through and the plums are very soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the hazelnuts and half of the parsley. (The filling can be made several hours ahead. Refrigerate in an airtight container.)
4. Preheat the oven to 400°F. / 200°C.
5. Divide the filling among the portobello caps and bake until heated through and slightly browned, 20 minutes.
6. Sprinkle the remaining parsley and some black pepper over the mushrooms and serve.
POITEVIN CABBAGE PARCELS
Farci poitevin
SERVES 4 AS A MAIN DISH OR 6 TO 8 AS A SIDE
Farci poitevin is a traditional dish from the Poitou, a swampy, beautiful, and underexplored region in the West of France. It comprises cabbage leaves stuffed with an egg-and-cream batter made green by an abundance of edible leaves: sorrel, spinach, chard, parsley, but also radish tops, turnip leaves, lettuce, or any other green that’s been growing increasingly impatient in the fridge.
Every Poitou family has its own recipe that it swears is the one and only true farci poitevin, but in all of them the cabbage leaves are held together by a special cloth netting and plunged into simmering stock to cook for a few hours. The finished dish is then sliced into wedges to be served warm or cold. As that netting is hard to find and not much easier to handle, I’ve transformed the process slightly: I either fold the cabbage leaves into individual stuffed parcels to be steamed, or assemble the dish in a loaf pan (or individual ramekins) lined with cabbage leaves to be baked in the oven.
Serve with the sharpest Dijon mustard you can find and a side of Potato and Celery Root Gratin.
8 large Savoy cabbage leaves, with no holes or tears
2 ounces / 55 g sorrel
4½ ounces / 130 g spinach
4½ ounces / 130 g Swiss chard
7 ounces / 200 g leeks, white part only, thinly sliced
1 cup / 20 g chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
3 large organic eggs
3 tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream
⅔ cup / 85 g all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Bring salted water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Working in batches, add the cabbage leaves and cook to soften, about 4 minutes. Rinse in cold water to stop the cooking, drain carefully and spread out on a kitchen towel to dry. Cut away the hard base of the center ribs so the leaves are pliable, but still offer enough surface area to hold the stuffing.
2. Remove the stems and center ribs of the sorrel, spinach, and Swiss chard and save for the stock box or other use. Make sure the leaves are dry. Gather them into a pile, slice into ½-inch 1 cm strips, and then slice the strips crosswise to form ½-inch 1 cm squares.
3. In a large bowl, combine the chopped greens with the leeks and parsley. Add the eggs and
Plum season tapers out as we get deeper into the fall; if local plums are no longer available when you make this, use cooking apples instead.
6 burger-size portobello mushroom caps (3½ ounces / 100 g each)
1¼ pounds / 560 g brown mushrooms
Olive oil for cooking
Grated zest of 1 organic lemon
Fine sea salt
2 small red onions (4¼ ounces / 120 g each), minced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
10 ounces / 280 g plums, pitted and chopped
⅔ cup / 65 g hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
1 cup / 20 g fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Brush all the mushrooms gently with a damp towel to remove any trace of dirt; trim their stems as needed. Arrange the portobello mushroom caps, gill-side up, on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the lemon zest and a little salt.
2. Cut the brown mushrooms into ½-inch / 1 cm dice.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often to avoid coloring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the diced mushrooms and ½ teaspoon salt, stir, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the chopped plums and cook until the mushrooms are cooked through and the plums are very soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the hazelnuts and half of the parsley. (The filling can be made several hours ahead. Refrigerate in an airtight container.)
4. Preheat the oven to 400°F. / 200°C.
5. Divide the filling among the portobello caps and bake until heated through and slightly browned, 20 minutes.
6. Sprinkle the remaining parsley and some black pepper over the mushrooms and serve.
POITEVIN CABBAGE PARCELS
Farci poitevin
SERVES 4 AS A MAIN DISH OR 6 TO 8 AS A SIDE
Farci poitevin is a traditional dish from the Poitou, a swampy, beautiful, and underexplored region in the West of France. It comprises cabbage leaves stuffed with an egg-and-cream batter made green by an abundance of edible leaves: sorrel, spinach, chard, parsley, but also radish tops, turnip leaves, lettuce, or any other green that’s been growing increasingly impatient in the fridge.
Every Poitou family has its own recipe that it swears is the one and only true farci poitevin, but in all of them the cabbage leaves are held together by a special cloth netting and plunged into simmering stock to cook for a few hours. The finished dish is then sliced into wedges to be served warm or cold. As that netting is hard to find and not much easier to handle, I’ve transformed the process slightly: I either fold the cabbage leaves into individual stuffed parcels to be steamed, or assemble the dish in a loaf pan (or individual ramekins) lined with cabbage leaves to be baked in the oven.
Serve with the sharpest Dijon mustard you can find and a side of Potato and Celery Root Gratin.
8 large Savoy cabbage leaves, with no holes or tears
2 ounces / 55 g sorrel
4½ ounces / 130 g spinach
4½ ounces / 130 g Swiss chard
7 ounces / 200 g leeks, white part only, thinly sliced
1 cup / 20 g chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
3 large organic eggs
3 tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream
⅔ cup / 85 g all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Bring salted water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Working in batches, add the cabbage leaves and cook to soften, about 4 minutes. Rinse in cold water to stop the cooking, drain carefully and spread out on a kitchen towel to dry. Cut away the hard base of the center ribs so the leaves are pliable, but still offer enough surface area to hold the stuffing.
2. Remove the stems and center ribs of the sorrel, spinach, and Swiss chard and save for the stock box or other use. Make sure the leaves are dry. Gather them into a pile, slice into ½-inch 1 cm strips, and then slice the strips crosswise to form ½-inch 1 cm squares.
3. In a large bowl, combine the chopped greens with the leeks and parsley. Add the eggs and
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