Baked Potato & Mushroom Casserole

Jazz Cooking For Creative Foodies Who Love To Improvise

You will notice that this is a differently written recipe, in that it only approximates or suggests quantities of ingredients, baking time and number of portions. This is intended to give you complete freedom to improvise, create and adjust the flavor to your preference and the quantity of ingredients to the size of the casserole you are baking and the number of portions you plan to serve or refrigerate for later meals.

Important: For reasons of both health and flavor, we use and recommend that only organic ingredients be included—if possible.

INGREDIENTS:

Important: For reasons of both health and flavor, we use and recommend that only organic ingredients be included—if possible.

  • 3 to 6 medium size potatoes (we used Yukon Gold potatoes for their smooth texture and mild flavor)
  • About 1 lb to 1-and-1/2 lb mushrooms—preferably two different kinds for richer flavor (we used ½ Cremini and ½ Porciini mushrooms for our first experiment—because they were the most appealing looking organic ones on the supermarket shelf at our shopping time—and they turned out to be very tasty choices (but be sure to rinse well and cut to easiest pieces to purée in food processor)
  • Half to 2/3 red onion—depending on its size and the volume of the casserole you plan to bake (peeled and cut into pieces easiest to purée with above)
  • 3 to 6 cloves of fresh garlic (depending on your flavor preference and volume of dish)
  • 2 to 3 soup-spoons Olive Oil
  • 1 soup-spoon Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 to 2 whole eggs
  • ½ to 2/3 cup egg-whites
  • Pink salt to taste
  • Chopped fresh or dry parsley (quantity: your choice—improvise—consult your intuition)
  • ½ to 2/3 cup of fresh basil—or dry basil (quantity: your choice—improvise—consult your intuition)
  • ½ teaspoon or more of smoked red paprika
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper—careful, it’s hot, a little goes a long way to hotter
  • ¼ teaspoon powdered ginger
  • Small shake of Coriander
  • ¼ to ½ cup of bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS (for processing, assembling and baking)

  • Cut up and purée in a food processor: potatoes, mushrooms, onion, garlic cloves, eggs, egg-whites olive oil, Worcestershire Sauce (you may have to do the food processing in stages if all the above do not fit into your processor at once)
  • Pour puréed ingredients into big mixing bowl; add all the herbs and spices, and mix thoroughly with long-handled mixing spoon to distribute all ingredients evenly
  • Pour just enough olive oil to coat liberally a (preferably) Pyrex baking dish (or stainless steel baking dish if Pyrex not available—but NO aluminum, and NO non-stick baking dish, please) of appropriate size that can accommodate the above mix; but big enough so the mix does NOT fill the baking dish to the brim—leave at least ½ inch from top so it does not overflow while baking
  • Cover top of mix with a solid but thin layer of breadcrumbs (for crunch)
  • Bake at 400 degrees for as long as it takes for the amount you prepared to become firm enough to slice without falling apart—and for the top to become browned but not burnt. Bake long enough to evaporate most of the liquids until the dish is not soggy and the consistency is that of a firm cheesecake.

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This dish is highly nutritious but also filling, so it’s best to eat moderate or small portions

Bon Appétit

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