I expected to hear a lot of comments when I told people I was starting a food blog, “not another,” being the one I most expected (but happily heard the least). Nowhere on the list was, “You know what I hate about food blogs? When the writer has to tell you their life story before they get to the recipe,” and yet this is the theme that repeated through dozens of conversations.

It was a bit bracing to hear such strident opinions before I’d even finished the first draft of my first post, but I also understand the critique: if you’re looking for a recipe, the last thing you want is a lengthy discourse on some blogger’s trip to somewhere and how that absolutely changed their life and by the way, almost as an afterthought, here’s something to cook. No, you’re there for the food! You want the recipe! It’s the same with the endless artsy photos of heirloom tomatoes and impossible-to-find ingredients that can take an endless amount of time to load. If I wanted a photo essay, I’d look for a photo essay. I want food.

So I’ll keep this, and future posts, short given that we’re all hungry, and just note that one of the huge benefits of being known as a food lover is that people bring you things to cook. And if the person bringing you things happens to volunteer with an amazing farm and be willing to share excellent mushrooms and sweet potato greens, you have the inspiration for a quick dinner, one that’s easily adaptable to the types of mushrooms and greens you have on hand and ready in under an hour, because aren’t we all just here for the food?

Tofu, Mushrooms, and Hearty Greens in Miso Broth

Source: I Thought There Would Be Free Food

Serves 4–6 people, depending on hunger levels

Total time: 45–60 minutes, depending on your knife skills

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sesame oil, divided
• 1 medium onion
• ~ 3 garlic cloves
• 1 14 ounce package of firm or extra-firm tofu
• 16 ounces white button mushrooms (you can use other varieties, but the cooking times may vary; for example, shiitakes release very little water and won’t require much sautéeing)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2–1 full bunch hearty greens (after chopping you should have about 4 cups); kale, sweet potato greens, or Swiss chard will all work well
• 1/4 cup red miso paste (red has a slightly stronger flavor than other varieties, but feel free to use what’s available)
• 2/3 cup hot water
• Soba or rice, for serving

Directions:

• Remove the tofu from its soaking liquid and slice into 8 equal rectangles. Lay the slices on one half of a clean dish towel and then fold the other half of the towel over the tofu. Place a large cutting board or baking sheet on top of the slices and press down firmly, with even pressure, for 2–3 minutes, or until the towel has absorbed much of the tofu’s excess liquid.
• Stack four slices of tofu on top of each other and then cut into eighths, forming neat cubes approximately one-inch square. Set aside. Repeat with the remaining tofu.
• Finely chop the onion and set aside. Mince the garlic and set aside.
• Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. When the wok is hot, add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil; when it’s warm, toss in the tofu. If your cooking vessel isn’t very large, you may need to brown the tofu in two separate batches, as crowding the pan will cause it to steam rather than brown.
• Keep an eye on the tofu and toss occasionally to prevent scorching. While it cooks, wash your mushrooms, trim the tough ends at the bottom of the stems, and thinly slice the mushrooms, stems, caps, and all. Set aside.
• Once your tofu is golden brown on most sides (it needn’t be on every side—don’t worry about perfection here), add the soy sauce. It’ll make a nice sizzling noise, bubble about, and then cook down in fairly short order. Once the tofu has absorbed the liquid, transfer it to a plate and set aside.
• This is an excellent time to pause and start the water for your soba or rice, whichever you prefer. (I’ll let you take care of making that.)
• Add the additional teaspoon of sesame oil to the wok; when it’s hot, add the onions and sauté; when they start to become translucent, add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook until the mushrooms have released all their water and the mixture turns dry and begins to brown.
• It’ll take some minutes for the mushrooms to cook, so you’ve got time to wash your hearty greens, de-rib them, if that’s your preference (but don’t toss those stems! More on that in a future post), and slice them into ribbons. The best way I’ve found to do this is to work with a small pile of de-ribbed greens at a time, rolling them into an ovular tube/mound kind of thing before slicing thinly (if this isn’t making any sense, Food 52 has excellent photos instructions here).
• Once the mushrooms are starting to brown, toss in the greens and sauté until they start to wilt. Meanwhile, stir together the miso and hot water in a medium bowl until the paste has dissolved. Add the miso mixture to your wilted greens and simmer briefly—about long enough to make sure your soba or rice are ready to eat. When they are, return the tofu to the wok, stir to coat it in the miso broth, and dish up.