This quick and easy shiitake mushroom, shallot and spinach sauté gets just a touch of cream and some parmesan cheese to bring it together at the end. It’s the perfect thing to use as a bed for a sear-roasted striper filet (or any fish), but it’s also a nice side or bed for a tenderloin or rib-eye steak or even a sautéed chicken breast. The recipe yields 4 portions (to use as a “bed”) or 2 bigger portions to use as a side dish.
Serves 2 as a side dish, 4 as a “bed”
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced peeled shallots
- Kosher salt
- 5 cups (about 5 ounces) lightly packed baby spinach leaves
- 3 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano Regianno
1. In a medium (9 to 10-inch) nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, melt the 3 tablespoons unsalted butter. Add the shiitakes and the shallots and season with ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Toss and stir to coat with the butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shiitakes are shrunken and lightly browned and the shallots are lightly browned, 6 to 9 minutes.
2. Add half of the spinach and a big pinch of salt. Stir until the spinach is wilted. Add the remaining half of the spinach and season with a few pinches of salt. Stir until the spinach is all wilted.
3. Add two to three tablespoons of the heavy cream and let it bubble and reduce a bit (a minute or two). Add a bit more cream if desired. Stir in the parmesan cheese, remove the pan from the heat, stir again, and taste for salt and papper.
4. Serve right away.
