Mushroom Lardons With Black-eyed Peas And Greens

Originally from onegreenplanet.org. I've made this a couple of times and love it. Lardons actually mean cubes of meat fat used to add flavor, but obviously a mushroom lardon isn't made from meat! Instead, the little mushroom cubes soak up flavor and is, here, well-browned to become a tiny flavor delivery cube for this savory vegan dish.

For the greens, I've used curly kale both times, plus on Christmas Eve last night I used some collard greens. I parboiled them all (separately) first. I like curly kale in this recipe because once cooked tender, it has more body than other greens and so mixes better with the other ingredients.

I made it with these approximate amounts, and after recently enjoying the Kyoto Roasted Sweet Potatoes, decided to try adding miso to the mushroom lardons. It was delicious!

• 6 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium portobello mushrooms, stemmed and caps sliced into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1/4 t kosher salt
• 2 T soy sauce
• optional 1 T white miso
• 1/2 t smoked paprika
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 c cooked black-eyed peas
• 6 c roughly chopped kale, collard greens, or Swiss chard leaves, tough stems removed (and parboiled or blanched if needed)

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, often stirring, until they brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook until the mushrooms are very deeply and evenly browned, about 10 minutes longer, reducing the heat to medium-low if they begin to darken too quickly. You want them to shrivel and brown. Add the salt, soy sauce, miso, and smoked paprika and stir until the pan is dry. Transfer the mushrooms to a bowl and set them aside.
2. Place the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil in the pan with the garlic, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the black-eyed peas, and once they start sizzling, add the greens. Stir and shift the greens around using a slotted spoon or tongs, and once they begin to wilt, after 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, return the mushrooms to the pan. Cook, frequently stirring until the greens are tender, 2 to 3 minutes more. Turn off the heat and serve.
3. The mushrooms with black-eyed peas and greens will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

originally submitted by marlacparker on Dec 25, 2024