Portobello steaks & butter bean mash

Occasionally, a new addition to the repertoire is rapidly elevated to family-favourite status. Such is this superb recipe, for which I’m indebted to Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage: it was published in their wonderful book Flavour at the end of 2020. This is a perfect meal to serve to vegetarians (vegans, in fact) and meat-eaters alike: rich, filling, packed with flavour and, by Ottolenghi standards, surprisingly straightforward to make. There will be plenty of the spicy oil left over, which will keep for ages in the fridge. (It inspired an invention that I dubbed ‘Balkan eggs’ after spooning it over a poached egg sitting on top of Ajvar and toast.)

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the ‘steaks’
4 medium to large portobello mushrooms, stems removed
10 garlic cloves, peeled
1 onion, peeled and cut into 6 wedges
1½ tbsp chipotle chilli flakes
1 red chilli
4 tsp cumin seeds, roughly crushed in a pestle and mortar
1 tbsp coriander seeds, roughly crushed in a pestle and mortar
2 tbsp tomato puree
400ml olive oil
Flaked sea salt

For the butter bean mash
1 x 700g jar or 2 tins of cooked large butter beans, drained
1½ tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
Flaked sea salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 150 fan.

Put all the ingredients for the steaks and 1tbsp flaked salt into a large ovenproof pan for which you have a lid. (Swish the tomato puree a little with a fork to disperse it.) Arrange the mushrooms on top, domed side up, then top with a piece of baking parchment, pushing it down to cover everything. Put the lid on, then cook in the oven for an hour.

Turn the mushrooms over, replacing paper and lid and return to the oven for 20 more minutes. Using a pair of tongs, transfer the mushrooms to a chopping board, cut them in half and set aside.

Fish the onion, garlic and chilli (discarding the stem) out of the oil – don’t worry if some of the spices come too. Put them into a small food processor – or use a stick blender – and whizz until smooth. Return the blitzed mixture to the saucepan and whisk it quickly through the oil. Add the mushroom halves and place on a medium-high heat. Cook for about 5 minutes. I do this with the lid on to catch splashes.

While the mushrooms are cooking, make the mash: put the beans in a food processor along with the lemon juice, olive oil, ½ teaspoon flaked salt and 2 tablespoons of water. Blitz until completely smooth. Transfer to a medium saucepan and cook on a medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, stirring, until warmed through. Do keep an eye on it to prevent burning.

To serve, divide the butterbean mash between four plates. Top with four mushroom halves per plate and spoon over a generous amount of oil and its aromatic spices. (Don’t use it all – you’ll want to keep a decent amount.) Green vegetables or salad make a balanced accompaniment.