By Michael Natkin,
JTNews Columnist
Although Sukkot is past, with our mild climate in the Pacific Northwest the harvest most definitely continues. Beautiful wild mushrooms like chanterelles, morels, and even fresh porcini are available, as are new potatoes. Here’s a beautiful way to use those ingredients. Everything is sautéed until tender and caramelized, and then a quick pan sauce is made by deglazing with red wine and finishing with a little sweet butter. The result is rich and earthy, with a French feel. You can eat the mushrooms and shallots and then mash the spuds into the sauce to mop everything up.
If you are a farmer’s market shopper, you’ll see a wide variety of small, waxy potatoes for sale right now. For the prettiest results, choose a kind that is about one inch or a bit larger in diameter, so you can serve them whole. If those aren’t available, just choose a larger variety and cut them down to size.
The recipe makes a substantial side dish for two people, or a few bites for four. I’ve also been known to eat a whole batch and call it dinner for one.
Potatoes, Chanterelles and Shallots in Red Wine Sauce
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 cups small fingerling potatoes or other small potatoes, cut up if larger than 2 bites
1 cup (or more) chanterelle mushrooms, thoroughly wiped clean
4 medium or 2 very large shallots, cut into large bite-size chunks
1/2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup water, plus additional as necessary
3/4 cup dry red wine
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, minced
Freshly ground black pepper
Melt 2 Tbs. of the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.
Add the potatoes, mushrooms, shallots, rosemary, and salt, and toss to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes, trying to get a little browning going but without burning anything.
Add 1/2 cup water, cover the pan, and reduce the heat to a simmer.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes, adding more water as needed to prevent burning.
When the potatoes are cooked, remove the lid and raise the heat to cook off any remaining liquid.
Transfer all of the vegetables to a warmed platter. Pour the wine into the skillet and raise the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring and scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pan into the sauce. Cut the remaining 2 Tbs. butter into small pieces and whisk them vigorously into the sauce, which should have a nice sheen. This whole step should take just a couple of minutes, reducing and thickening the sauce slightly.
Strain the sauce if you prefer a more refined look. Spoon the sauce over the vegetables, garnish with parsley and a grind of black pepper, and serve immediately.
Local food writer and chef Michael Natkin is the author of the recently released cookbook, “Herbivoracious, A Flavor Revolution with 150 Vibrant and Original Vegetarian Recipes,” based on his food blog, herbivoracious.com.