Recipe excerpt from:
The Power Five: Essential Foods for Optimum Health
by Michael Crupain, MD, MPH
When bread becomes toast, it undergoes a Maillard chemical reaction, which is a food-geek way to say it becomes even tastier. It also adds a crustiness, for an ever-better bed for toppings like the mushroom-tahini mixture in this recipe. This is a crowd-pleasing appetizer, but sometimes I have it for breakfast or lunch. If you’re feeling fancy, garnish with a sprig of thyme at the end for a picture-perfect finish.
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4 to 6
Ingredients
- 1 pound assorted mushrooms (such as oyster, maitake, shiitake)
- ½ teaspoon urfa chile flakes (dried Turkish chile peppers)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for finishing
- Salt
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 4 slices whole wheat or sourdough bread, toasted and rubbed with a raw garlic clove
Directions
Coarsely chop the mushrooms, and add to a bowl with the chile flakes and oil. Toss to coat the mushrooms.
Cook the mushrooms in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until browned. Season with salt, add the garlic, shallot, and thyme, and sauté for 4 minutes or until the shallot is soft. Stir in the wine, and cook until just evaporated. Turn off the heat, and stir in the tahini. If the mixture is too dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons water for desired consistency. Spoon the mushrooms over the toast, sprinkle with salt to taste, and serve.