miso buttered mushrooms on toast

If you love:

• fresh cut flowers in a vase

• farmer’s market trips

• berry-flavored matcha lattes

• the colors pink, yellow, light blue, and green

then (1) we should be friends, and (2) your favorite season is probably Spring. For me, Spring is the equivalent of the feeling after an everything shower — fresh, new, smells good, and can finally shed unwanted layers (winter outerwear, duh). I’m reminded how beautiful the natural world around us is, and try to enjoy the gifts of nature as much as possible. One gift: the colorful and flavorful produce of the season.

Which is why I decided to post a series called Veggies on Toast, where I’ll be sharing simple yet delicious recipes for the season’s best produce on top of pieces of toasted bread (my favorite way to eat anything really).

Today I’m starting out with these delicious miso-butter-toasted mushrooms on ricotta toast, and while mushrooms are available year round, eating them in the sunshine is not (see: sunny picture of mushrooms on toast).

prep time: 15 minutes | cook time: 10 minutes | assembly time: 3 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups mushrooms, broken into 1-2” pieces

any mushrooms work, but I prefer sturdier ones like beech, shitake, maitake, or cremini

1 1/2 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 tbsp. white miso paste

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. thyme, fresh or dried

1/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese

1-2 slices sourdough, toasted

optional toppings: honey, sea salt, black pepper & fresh chives

DIRECTIONS

If your mushrooms are not already clean, rinse and dry them well before cooking.

Preheat a skillet over medium heat, then add 1 tbsp. of butter and miso paste, stirring together as the miso and butter combine and the miso becomes caramelized. Add the mushrooms, salt, and additional 1/2 tbsp. of butter and stir occasionally, tossing the mushrooms in the miso butter and allowing them to char in spots. Once the mushrooms are starting to brown and char, add in the thyme and black pepper and turn off the heat.

Top toasted sourdough with ricotta cheese, and then charred miso butter mushrooms. Top with optional toppings as desired: a drizzle of honey, some extra black pepper or flaky sea salt, and freshly chopped chives are perfect for this toast.