Springtime mushrooms, onions and garden greens galore: Bruce Cole showed us how to cook simple and delicious dishes to celebrate the season.

Fungi Flatbread
Recipe by Kathleen Korb for Edible San Francisco Fall 2013
This is inspired by the mushroom pizza from Piccino restaurant. It has a mushroom base with more mushrooms on top, which is fungi nirvana.

Serves 4
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed according to package instructions
1 pound mushrooms (mixed varieties; your choice)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 splash of white wine (optional) for deglazing
Sea salt and pepper
4 ounces pecorino cheese, shaved
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 400°.

If your mushrooms are dirty, wipe them with a damp paper towel.

If using larger mushrooms, tear or cut them into medium-sized pieces. If using smaller mushrooms, leave whole.

In a large fry pan over medium-high heat, melt butter and olive oil. Add the mushrooms and shallots and toss with butter and then spread into a single layer and leave undisturbed for a couple of minutes until they start to brown. Add the garlic and thyme, and give the mushrooms a toss.

Continue to cook for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Most of the moisture from the mushrooms should evaporate, and the mushrooms should be golden brown. Add a splash of wine to deglaze the pan. Once the wine evaporates, season to taste with salt and pepper. In a food processor, pulse half the mushrooms until coarsely chopped. If the mixture seems dry, add a splash of olive oil.

Unfold the sheet of puff pastry onto a sheet of parchment paper. Leaving a ½-inch border, spread the chopped mushroom mixture evenly across the top of the pastry. Top with cheese, then add the remaining whole mushrooms and shallots on top of the cheese.

Bake at 400° for 25 minutes, or until pastry is crispy and golden.

Mushroom Toast with Sheep’s Milk Ricotta
Recipe by Kathleen Korb for Edible San Francisco Fall 2013
This is probably my favorite way to enjoy mushrooms—a simple balance of earthy and creamy with a crunch.

Serves 4
1/3 pound sheep’s milk ricotta
2 tablespoons chives
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 small squeeze lemon juice
Sea salt and pepper
Olive oil
1/2 pound mushrooms (mixed varieties; your choice)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 splash white wine (optional) for deglazing
4 (1/2-inch) slices of crusty wood-oven bread, toasted or grilled

In a small mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, 1 tablespoon chives and 1 tablespoon parsley (reserve the rest for garnishing), lemon zest, a small squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper, to taste.

If the mixture is thick, add a little olive oil to thin it out.

If your mushrooms are dirty, wipe them with a damp paper towel. If using larger mushrooms, tear or cut them into medium-sized pieces. If using smaller mushrooms, leave whole.

In a large fry pan over medium-high heat, melt butter and olive oil. Add the mushrooms, toss with butter and then spread into a single layer and leave undisturbed for a couple of minutes until they start to brown. Add the garlic, and give the mushrooms a toss.

Continue to cook for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Most of the moisture from the mushrooms should evaporate and the mushrooms should be golden brown. Add a splash of wine to deglaze the pan. Once the wine evaporates, season to taste with salt and pepper, and then toss with 1 tablespoon parsley.

Spread the ricotta mixture over the toasted bread, top with mushrooms and sprinkle with reserved chives and parsley.

Jeremiah Tower’s Mushroom Salad
Adapted from Jeremiah Tower Cooks, Stewart, Tabori and Chang, © 2002

Serves 4
1 pound white button mushrooms
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon rosemary leaves finely chopped
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons chives finely chopped
½ teaspoon ground white pepper

Slice the mushrooms vertically into 1/16 inch slices.

Combine the lemon juice, rosemary and olive oil into a bowl large enough to hold the mushrooms. Add the mushrooms and toss gently, sprinkle with the salt and toss again until the mushrooms are coated with the vinaigrette.

Let the mushrooms set for 5 minutes then pour in a bit of the cream. Toss again gently to coat, adding more cream if necessary.

Serve garnished with the chives and lots of pepper.

Blue Cheese Tapas
Adapted from Movida Cocina, Murdoch Books, © 2011

4 sheets filo pastry
milk, for brushing
super fine sugar for sprinkling
3 ounces blue cheese
Sea salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F

To make the filo crackers: Keep the filo pastry covered with a damp dish towel. Place a sheet of filo on a cutting board, brush with a little milk and sprinkle lightly with the sugar. Top with a second sheet of filo and repeat brushing with milk and sprinkling with sugar. Top with a third sheet of filo but do not brush or sprinkle.

Cut into even-sized squares and place on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and place another baking sheet on top to weigh down the filo and keep it from buckling during baking.

Bake for 12 minutes or until crisp.

Put the blue cheese in a bowl and add a tablespoon or so of milk and mix until soft, smooth and spreadable. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, arrange 12 crackers on a platter, spoon about 1 tablespoon of blue cheese mixture onto the top half of each cracker. Take another cracker and place on top of the mixture to make an “A” shape.

To eat, grab the cracker at the joint and squeeze to flatten out the blue cheese to make a little sandwich.

Paul Bertolli’s Strawberry Sorbet
Adapted from Cooking By Hand, Clarkson Potter, © 2003

The first fruit of spring is finally here: let’s welcome strawberries to the party and bid a fond farewell to citrus! While we’re waiting patiently for cherries, apricots, peaches and plums, we stock up on strawberries, and inevitably freeze a couple quarts a week. Our favorite recipe for using this frozen bounty comes from Paul Bertolli’s Cooking by Hand (Potter 2003).

INGREDIENTS
One quart fresh organic strawberries
4 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup cold water
PREPARATION
Quickly rinse the strawberries and gently dry on paper towels. Arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze for two hours or until the berries are frozen solid.
To make the sorbet, put the frozen berries in a food processor, add the sugar, and pulse for a few seconds to chop up the fruit.
Add the water and process the berries at full speed until smooth. Taste to adjust seasoning and consistency, adding more sugar and water if needed.
Serve immediately or freeze for a couple more hours until firm enough to scoop.
We like to drizzle with balsamic vinegar and garnish with a tiny bit of fresh black pepper.