Sauteed Shitake Mushrooms and Spinach with Spicy Garlic Sauce

Ruth Reichl, Editor in Chief of Gourmet magazine, spoke at The Journalism School last week. And not surprisingly, I was seated in the front row, looking doe-eyed at the culinary grandmaster. Reichl discussed her past career experiences, the fate of magazine readership and the future of the culinary media industry. She was refreshingly simple in her approach to food. “The thing about good food is that anybody can recognize it,” Reichl said. The one-time food critic added that Korean cuisine will be the next trend in the culinary world, and so I’ve adapted this recipe from several recipes in the March issue to dip into that Korean flavor. Enjoy!

Shopping List

• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ¼ cup chopped scallion
• 3 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Asian sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon coarse Korean hot red pepper flakes
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cups sliced shitake mushrooms
• 4 cups loosely packed baby spinach leaves

Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350º.

Spread the sesame seeds onto a baking sheet and bake for 5 to 7 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove the toasted sesame seeds and use a heavy knife to crush them into smaller pieces.

In a bowl, whisk together the crushed sesame seeds with the garlic, scallions, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and sugar. Set aside.

Add 2 Tablespoons of olive oil to a saucepan over medium heat.

Add the shitake mushrooms and saute 5 to 7 minutes, until golden brown, then add the spinach.

Pour the sauce over the mushrooms and spinach and saute an additional 5 minutes.

Plate and serve warm.