Mushroom

Mushrooms are not common in the Middle East but you do find them—in Cyprus, for instance.

A simply delicious sauce to serve over grains, veggie burgers, green vegetables, or mashed potatoes.

This makes an excellent side dish for pasta. See the menu accompanying Farfalle with Mushrooms (page 76).

Napa cabbage is a leafier relative of bok choy. This is compatible with Asian rice, noodle, and tofu dishes.

A wonderful accompaniment to the salad course of a special meal, served on a separate plate. These also make great “meaty” fillers for burger buns with lettuce, tomato, and your favorite condiments.

Served in small side portions, this aromatic preparation complements Asian noodle or rice dishes.

A small amount of light cream cheese gives these stuffed potatoes a rich flavor. Serve them with a big tossed salad with chickpeas or black-eyed peas, and some steamed green beans or asparagus.

Spinach and mushrooms are nicely flavored with sharp cheddar in these delectable wraps.

A lighter tortilla dish, this is good served with a hearty grain pilaf or a bean dish.

Pizza goes gourmet with the use of smoky mozzarella and tasty mushrooms. Like a number of the other pizzas in this chapter, this one makes a complete meal with the addition of a big salad and fresh fruit or a fruity dessert from Chapter Eleven.

Soft tofu is a good choice for dishes in which it is crumbled, as in this and the preceding scramble recipe. Both are good for lunch, a light dinner, or even as part of a casual brunch.

A great choice for hearty appetites, this convincingly dispels the notion that vegetarian cuisine is “rabbit food.”

The darker mushrooms yield a richer flavor, so give them a try. As always, my favorite seasoning for barley is fresh dill. See menu on page 206.

I like to use a fairly flat noodle, such as farfalle, with mushroom sauces. Do try to use one of the varieties of brown mushrooms suggested for a full-bodied flavor.

This salad makes an earthy companion to light pasta dishes. Look for packages of fresh mixed wild mushrooms in the produce section of well-stocked supermarkets. They contain a melange of three or four varieties, which may include cremini, shiitake, oyster, or others.

What luscious flavor from such basic ingredients! Pureed soft tofu or white beans make a deceptively rich base for a soup sure to please mushroom enthusiasts. Serve this soup as an introduction to light pasta or potato dishes.

This nicely flavored miso soup is made more substantial with the addition of tofu. Fresh shiitake mushrooms impart the best flavor to the broth. Follow with an Asian-style noodle dish, such as Asian Sesame-Soy Noodles (page 85).

If you find yourself with too much lettuce and some leftover rice, here’s a great way to use both.

A trip to an Asian market to find exotic noodles is no longer necessary. Most well-stocked supermarkets feature an array of imported noodles in the Asian foods section. See the menu with Instant Tofu and Mixed Vegetable Stir-Fry (page 144).

Fish is my fave thing to serve with this.