I think when God made mushrooms, He must have made onions on the same day, knowing that they are just the perfect mates. Seriously. What two foods are better paired, other than maybe peanut butter and jelly? We eat a LOT of mushrooms 'round these parts… a.k.a. in my kitchen. Dr. Fuhrman says, "Eat lots of mushrooms all the time." Why? Well, I could get long-winded about it but you can certainly do your own research and check out the link coming up. However, there is one fact which prompts me to keep buying and eating mushrooms (other than the fact that I happen to love them) and that is that they are cancer-inhibiting wonders. Wonders! Did you know that eating ONE mushroom per day can reduce a woman's risk of breast cancer by about 60%? Holy cow. I've mentioned this before but I really have to reiterate…. why isn't this front-page news??? Well, there's a lot of money to be made in allopathic medicine. Last year over $100 billion dollars was spent on cancer drugs. That's right. BILLIONS. Why would those who are so successfully doling out chemotherapy and radiation treatments want to educate the masses that we already have the means to win "the war on cancer?" It's on your plate! But that's another topic altogether. Don't get me started.
I want to talk about this tart. I'm calling it a tart because I used a tart dish, but you could easily just use a pie plate and call it a pie. What's the difference? A tart has straight sides and a pie is, well, you know, cooked in a pie dish. Who cares? It tastes the same in either vessel. :) There are a few steps to this recipe but the cool thing is that you can easily cook the mushrooms and onions ahead of time, like even the day before, and it won't seem like such a daunting day in the kitchen.
Back to these mushrooms and onions buddies… sigh. How can you go wrong with layering a ton of mushrooms into a pie plate, covering them with tender, sweet, caramelized onions and baking them up with a creamy filling in a whole grain crust? You can't.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup short-grain brown rice + 2¼ cups water
- 1½ pounds mushrooms (mix and match any kind you like—I used portabella, shiitake, white button and oyster mushrooms)
- 1 large, sweet onion
- 2 tsp Bragg Organic Sprinkle (or sub with thyme and rosemary, or any other herbal spice blend that you like)
- ½ tsp ground black pepper plus more for garnish
- 7 oz. extra firm tofu (about a half of a block of what you would normally buy)
- 1 cup unsweetened plant-based milk
- ¼ cup arrowroot powder (or tapioca)
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- ¼ cup cooking sherry or white wine
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp tamari or other low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tsp molasses
Directions:
- Cook the rice with the water, as you usually would. Set aside to cool off.
- Slice the onion into thin strips and water-sauté until tender. Add 1 tsp molasses at the end and cook at bit more to incorporate. Set aside.
- Water sauté the mushrooms with the spice of your choice. I used Organic Sprinkle which reminds me of Thanksgiving! When the mushrooms are tender and most of their water has cooked off, deglaze the pan with the sherry or white wine and cook for a few more minutes. Set aside.
- Place the tofu, milk, arrowroot, tamari, onion powder and turmeric in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Spoon the rice into a lightly oiled tart dish or pie plate and press down to form a crust. The rice should be just warm or room temperature but not cold, which will make it more pliable and easy to work with. I used some plastic wrap and a pastry roller to get the crust nice and flat and even. Use your fingers to work it up the sides.
- Toss the mushrooms with half of the tofu mixture and spoon into the pie or tart dish. Level out.
- Top with the onions and pour the remaining tofu mixture over the top, again smoothing out the surface.
- Add a twist or two of ground black pepper to the top.
- Bake for about 45 minutes at 350° F. Cover loosely with some foil towards the end so the crust doesn't get too dry.
- Let cool for a while before serving (it will slice better).
Makes one tart (or pie). Enjoy!
Healthy trails,
