Wild Mushroom Salad with Quinoa Aged Goat Cheese Caramelized Shallot Marmalade

What can I say? I failed to implement my resolution to blog consistently rather spectacularly, and right from the get-go. Oh well… I can always try to do better.

Brunch with Bobby is no longer on my cookbook shelves. The blackberry sticky buns and yogurt brûlée were both very mediocre and certainly not worth making again. The blackberry sticky buns were a particular disappointment; super sweet, with no actual hint of spice coming through nor any obvious blackberry flavor, the buns didn’t hold together well, my properly-toasted hazelnuts burned during the additional bake in the sugar, and trying to transport them caused such a syrupy mess that I had to have my car professionally detailed.

The yogurt creme brûlée was just odd, with warm/hot yogurt under the sugar layer, I wasn’t a fan. In that vein, I won’t post the recipes, but if you’re dying to try them yourself, both recipes are available on FoodNetwork.com, here and here.

Bar Americain is at risk but holding on currently while I try Bobby’s smoked chicken and spicy pickles. This little experiment indicates that there was some shift in Bobby’s recipe publishing workflow. Either someone else is writing recipes for him now or they used to be tested and now no one tests them. Maybe he became too famous and people are afraid of telling him something actually isn’t that tasty?

The mushroom-quinoa salad from Bar Americain needed to be overhauled before posting to my blog. In particular, it needed about double the quantity of mushroom and half the quantity of quinoa. The finished salad suffered from a serious abundance of olive oil and zero acid to punch up the flavors. I also felt like the baguette toast were a little passé and not really necessary, plus the shallot jam makes an absurd quantity for this salad. (You’re meant to serve the mushroom-quinoa-arugula salad with a toasted baguette slice topped with aged cherve and shallot marmalade.) On the other hand, the shallot jam is a killer flavor bomb and we happily used the excess in small amounts over the course of a couple weeks in eggs, pasta, other salads, stir-fries and soups, so it’s worth making a huge batch. If you aren't convinced, make the shallot marmalade recipe with just a quarter of the quantities listed.

I often skip adding parsley as a last step because my parsley died and I don’t regularly keep it in my vegetable drawer. However, the addition of chopped parsley makes a big impact on the cohesive flavor of this dish, so do make an effort to obtain and use parsley here.

I’ve punched up the acid by adding lemon zest here, but you could also add a splash of red wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, or fresh-squeezed lemon juice to balance the earthy flavors of the mushrooms and quinoa. I’ve also downplayed the amount of olive oil and the mushroom soak and mixed the aged chèvre and shallot jam into the salad itself. It might seem a little strange with the lemon zest, but this salad pairs really nicely with a poached or fried egg on top. Add an egg or two plus a sprinkle of fried breadcrumbs (with olive oil, salt, and pepper) to bring this salad over the top into a one-bowl meal.

Adapted from Bobby Flay's Bar Americain:

Wild Mushroom Salad with Quinoa, Aged Goat Cheese, and Caramelized Shallot Marmalade

Not the fastest salad you've ever made, but it requires minimal effort beyond chopping shallots and mushrooms and packs an earthy, flavorful punch.

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Course: Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Bobby Flay

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Marinating time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

Caramelized Shallot Marmalade

• ½ tablespoon unsalted butter
• ½ tablespoon olive oil
• 4 large shallots thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoons light muscovado sugar or light brown sugar
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoons fresh thyme finely chopped
• kosher salt about ½-1 teaspoon
• black pepper freshly cracked, about 5-7 grinds

Wild Mushroom Salad

• ½ pound cremini mushrooms thinly sliced
• ½ pound oyster mushrooms coarsely chopped
• ½ pound shiitake mushrooms stemmed, halved, and thinly sliced crosswise
• ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
• kosher salt about ½-1 teaspoon
• black pepper freshly cracked, about 5-7 grinds
• red chile pepper about ¼-½ teaspoon
• ¼ cup aged balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme finely chopped
• ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley finely chopped, divided
• ½ cup quinoa soaked if desired
• red wine vinegar splash
• 6 ounces mesclun greens or arugula
• 4 ounces aged goat cheese shaved
• juice from ¼ lemon about 2 teaspoons
• lemon zest from ¼ lemon about 1 teaspoon

Instructions

Caramelized Shallots

• Thinly slice the shallots, using a sharp knife or food processor.
• Melt the butter together with the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the thinly sliced shallots and cook, stirring occasionally and lowering the heat to medium low if the shallots start to brown too quickly. The shallots should become a golden brown and softened after 20-25 minutes.
• Add the sugar and red wine vinegar to the shallots, continue cooking until the mixture thickens and takes on a jamlike consistency, about another 15 minutes. If the mixture thickens so much it's difficult to spread, add a little water (about 1 tablespoon).
• Add the finely chopped fresh thyme, then season with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool to room temperature. The marmalade will keep in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to two weeks. Bring the shallot marmalade to room temperature before serving.

Wild Mushroom Salad

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Clean and slice all the mushrooms, place in the prepared roasting pan, toss all together with the 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper, and chile flakes (mixing thoroughly). Roast, stirring a few times, until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
• Whisk together the remaining ¼ cup oil, aged balsamic vinegar, thyme, and parsley. Season with salt, pepper, and stir again. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette in a small bowl.
• Add the warm roasted mushrooms to remaining vinaigrette (about 5 tablepoons), season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Let marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, soak the quinoa in cold water for 10 minutes, then rinse the quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer under cold running water for 1 minute. Drain well. Transfer to a small saucepan. Add 1 cup cold water and 1 teaspoon salt (or use 1 cup chicken broth); cover and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat to low; cook until quinoa is tender and water has evaporated, 10-15 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand for 10 minutes, without lifting the cover. Stir quinoa into the marinated mushrooms together with ¼-½ cup of the caramelized shallot marmalade and a splash of red wine vinegar.
• Toss the greens with the reserved vinaigrette, shaved goat cheese, lemon zest, and a generous squirt of lemon juice (from ½ a lemon). Divide among 4 large plates. Top with the quinoa-mushroom salad. Garnish with remaining parsley leaves and serve.