My way: Adeena's Mushrooms w/ Labneh
Adding kale to things is what it means to live in California
There’s a simple and healthy and wildly delicious dinner that I think about a lot. I crave it constantly. And yet I’ve only made it for myself twice. (…now this feels like a personality flaw. Why don’t I give myself what I want!? Why can’t I just be happy!?) Anyway. The dinner is my version of a quick recipe from Adeena Sussman’s beautiful cookbook Sababa. You may know Adeena Sussman from her now-famous Adeena’s Greenas or from the many, many cool things she’s done. She happens to be totally lovely and her cookbook, in turn, is very cook-able (you know what I mean) and inspiring and invites cooking splatters on its beautifully photographed pages.
The recipe (on page 46 for those following along at home) is almost an aside. It’s one of the many ways she suggests serving labneh. But it looked so good and I wanted to make it my whole dinner. So I did and here’s how:
Mushrooms & Kale with Labneh
Ingredients
1/2 yellow (or white) onion, thinly sliced
1/2 pound mushrooms (any kind you prefer, I used shiitake), halved
Extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 bunch dinosaur kale, roughly chopped or hand-torn
Pinch kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/3-1/2 cup labneh, to taste
Small handful fresh herbs like parsley, mint, cilantro roughly chopped (optional, for garnish)
Pinch of sumac (optional, for garnish)
Naan or pita bread (for serving)
Steps
Drizzle olive oil into a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-low heat and add thinly sliced onions. Very slowly caramelize onions over 15-20 minutes, stirring them occasionally to prevent burning. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the onions. Keep an eye on the heat, as well, and if they’re browning too quickly turn the heat lower. For 1/2 an onion, caramelizing should take about 15 minutes, give or take a few. You want them to be a caramel brown color and very soft, they’ll also cook down quite a bit.
Once the onions are nicely caramelized, add the mushrooms and make sure they’re spread out into one layer in the pan so they can start to brown. Cook over medium heat until softened and browned, about 8-9 minutes and sprinkle with a pinch of salt again.
Add the tablespoon of butter and another drizzle of olive oil to the pan and stir everything well, mixing up the onions and mushrooms. Add kale to the pan and stir well, letting the kale wilt and cook down for about 3-4 minutes. Taste the vegetables and season with salt and black pepper to your taste. Remove from heat.
Spoon the labneh into bowl(s) and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Top with the warm mushroom, kale, and onion mixture. Add pinch of sumac and/or fresh herbs, if using. Serve with warmed naan, pita, or baguette on the side.
Another way to use the mushroom, onion, kale mixture: with penne pasta and a heap of Parmesan or pecorino cheese.
Another way to use labneh: shredded chicken, a thick swipe of labneh, slow-caramelized onions, and shredded purple cabbage inside a pita. Yummmm.
Another thing you could do with this recipe: Serve it over brown rice, using the labneh as more of a sauce.
So I think the lesson here is…cook what makes you happy? Excuse me while I call my therapist.
xoxo,