It's Sunday, the sun is shining, and the weather is simply glorious in the Pacific Northwest. This time of the year, wild mushrooms are in season, as are white asparagus. So, this is "Sunday Tea" - a very late lunch after a late breakfast.
You will need a large frying pan (NOT a non-stick one) with a cover that you can put in the oven. A nice (about 4-lb, 2kg) roast that is well trussed up in twine, about a pound (half a kilo) of assorted mushrooms (I will use crimini, chantrelles, morels and porcini).
Pre-heat the oven to 375 deg.
Heat the pan over very high heat until hot. Dribble some olive oil and spread. Now, brown and caramelize all sides of the roast. It will sizzle and spit. Remove the roast to a side dish. There may be bits of frond stuck to the bottom of the pan. De-glaze the pan with Marsala wine and beef broth. Add the mushrooms and stir for a bit. Clear the center, and put the roast and any juices in the dish back into the pan. Cover and roast in the oven for 35 minutes.
While the roast is in the oven, saute white asparagus slowly in butter over medium-low heat. You have to do it slowly to retain the maximum sweetness and yet be cooked but still crunchy.
After 35 minutes, remove the pan from the oven, spread a large pat of butter on top of the roast and sprinkle the mushrooms with fried shallots (you can get these as fried onions from Trader Joe's or fried red onions from a Chinese grocery store). Re-cover and put back into the oven for another 5 minutes.
Remove the pan, place the roast on a serving dish, and spread the mushroom/shallot mixture around the roast.
Serve with boiled new potatoes and sweet potato/yam mash.
You will need a large frying pan (NOT a non-stick one) with a cover that you can put in the oven. A nice (about 4-lb, 2kg) roast that is well trussed up in twine, about a pound (half a kilo) of assorted mushrooms (I will use crimini, chantrelles, morels and porcini).
Pre-heat the oven to 375 deg.
Heat the pan over very high heat until hot. Dribble some olive oil and spread. Now, brown and caramelize all sides of the roast. It will sizzle and spit. Remove the roast to a side dish. There may be bits of frond stuck to the bottom of the pan. De-glaze the pan with Marsala wine and beef broth. Add the mushrooms and stir for a bit. Clear the center, and put the roast and any juices in the dish back into the pan. Cover and roast in the oven for 35 minutes.
While the roast is in the oven, saute white asparagus slowly in butter over medium-low heat. You have to do it slowly to retain the maximum sweetness and yet be cooked but still crunchy.
After 35 minutes, remove the pan from the oven, spread a large pat of butter on top of the roast and sprinkle the mushrooms with fried shallots (you can get these as fried onions from Trader Joe's or fried red onions from a Chinese grocery store). Re-cover and put back into the oven for another 5 minutes.
Remove the pan, place the roast on a serving dish, and spread the mushroom/shallot mixture around the roast.
Serve with boiled new potatoes and sweet potato/yam mash.
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