Portobello Steaks and Butter Bean Mash

RECIPE

Serves four as a main

Ingredients

Portobello Steaks

• 8 medium to large portobello mushrooms (about 1lb 7 oz/650 g), stems removed

• 10 garlic cloves, peeled

• 1 onion peeled and cut into 6 wedges (1 cup/150 g)

• 4.5 tsp chipotle flakes (or 1-2 whole chipotle Chile, minced to yield 4.5 tsp)
  [We have used 1 canned chipotle pepper]

• 1 red chile
  [We did not use the chile]

• 4 tsp cumin seeds, roughly crushed in a mortar and pestle

• 1 tbsp coriander seeds, roughly crushed in a mortar and pestle

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• 1 2/3 (1.67) cups/400 ml olive oil

• 1 tbsp flaked sea salt

Butter Bean Mash   [We doubled this part of the recipe—original quantities are shown below]

• 1 x 1 lb 9 oz/700 g jar good-quality large butter beans, drained (2 2/3 /500 g; Brindisa Navarrico large butter beans or cook you own)
  [The first time we made this recipe we soaked lima beans overnight. However, the last two times we used canned cannellini beans (also referred to as white kidney beans) which tasted just as good.]

• 4 1/2 tsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 2 tbsp water

• 1/2 tsp flaked sea salt

Instructions

Note from the cookbook:

We're not mad about calling vegetables a "steak" or "burger" or "schnitzel", because it feels as if you are trying to pass them off as something else, something superior. Vegetables are great simply as they are. In fact, they are the best! Sometimes, though, using a meaty name helps you understand what's going on and how delicious it is. Our portobellos aren't trying to be a steak, they are simply as good as any steak (with mash), if not better. [ ... ] What gives the mushrooms their verve is the chiles and spices and all the flavoured oil that coats them. You'll make more oil than you need here; keep it refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks, to spoon over grilled vegetables, noodles, meat, or fish. Serve this with sautéd greens if you like. [Françoise and I serve this with a green salad and a hot baguette to soak up the sauce.]

1. For the steaks: Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C fan

2. In a large overproof saucepan, for which you have a lid, [we used a large dutch oven] combine the mushrooms, garlic, onion, chile flakes, red  chile, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, tomato paste, olive oil, and salt and stir to mix. Arrange the mushrooms so they are domed-side up, then top with a piece of parchment paper, pushing it down to cover all the ingredients. Cover with the lid, then transfer to the oven for 1 hour. Turn the mushrooms over, replacing the paper and lid, and return to the oven for 20 minutes more, or until the mushrooms are very tender but not falling apart. Use a pair of tongs to transfer the mushrooms to a chopping board, then cut them in half and set aside.

3. Reserving the oil, use a spoon to transfer the onion, garlic, and chile (discarding the stem; don't worry if you scoop up some of the spices and oil) into the bowl of a small food processor and blitz until smooth. Return the blitzed onion mixture to the saucepan, along with the mushroom halves, and place on medium-hight heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, for all the flavours to come together.

4. For the mash: While the mushrooms are cooking, put the beans into a food processor along with the lemon juice, water, and salt. Blitz until completely smooth. Transfer to a medium saucepan and cook on medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, until warmed through.

5. Divide the mash among the plates. Top with four mushroom halves per plate and spoon in a generous amount of the reserved oil and its accompanying aromatics (you won't need all of it though, as noted above). Serve at once.