Tucked into a brightly lit hotel bar recently, I struck up a conversation with a lively tourist on a mission: She needed to find the best steak au poivre in the city, and she needed to find it stat. The thought of that earthy sauce has only occasionally withdrawn from my mind since. But the classic French preparation comprising black peppercorns, Cognac and cream needn’t be reserved for meat.
Many a vegetable will au poivre nicely, I imagine. (I’d like to try it on steaks of cauliflower or eggplant, planks of zucchini and bundles of blistered asparagus, for starters.) But perhaps the one best suited to the sauce is also the most obvious — the mushroom.
Meaty in texture and deeply savory in flavor, simply seared portobello caps are primed for the au poivre treatment, as Ali Slagle proves with her vegetarian take on the dish. The comment section is full of raves, as well as smart vegan modifications: “I substituted cultured vegan butter and made a simple cashew cream to substitute the heavy cream,” wrote Lola, a reader who declared the dish “INCREDIBLE.”
“Alongside sautéed spinach and mashed potatoes, I felt like I was at a vegetarian steakhouse,” wrote Elise, another reader. “I’ll definitely make this again.” It is, coincidentally, one of my favorite vegetarian recipes for conjuring the warmth of a dimly lit, wood-paneled restaurant — but it is not the only one.
Ali’s sheet-pan gnocchi with mushrooms and spinach (above) is up there, a hearty interpretation of traditional steakhouse sides that are, in my humble opinion, as much a draw as anything else on the menu. The store-bought gnocchi are a cheeky, weeknight-friendly nod to perhaps everyone’s favorite steakhouse stalwart — the baked potato — and, when tossed in a sauce of mustard, horseradish and honey, they steal the show with ease.
Sheet-Pan Gnocchi With Mushrooms and Spinach
Again, we turn to the mushroom for another recognizable beef preparation: the smash burger. And again, we turn to Ali for her mastery of the medium. In her new recipe, she presses seasoned portobello caps beneath a heavy skillet to squish them, rendering them thin and crisp at the edges. Because they shrink, you’ll want to stack two to a sandwich — real double cheeseburger vibes.
Alongside any of those steakhouse-y mains, I’d tear into Priya Krishna’s Indian-ish baked potatoes, Ham El-Waylly’s broccoli aligot and, of course, Becky Hughes’s vegan Caesar salad. And if it’s the weekend, why not slide Melissa Clark’s Parker House rolls with black pepper and Demerara sugar into the oven? Make that home a mushroomhouse!
Portobello ‘Steak’ au Poivre
Mushroom Smash Burgers
Vegan Caesar Salad With Crisp Chickpeas
One More Thing!
In this week’s Amplifier, our fabulous (anti-algorithm!) music discovery newsletter, Lindsay Zoladz’s honored the “absurdist joy” of the Sabrina Carpenter ear worm “Espresso” with a playlist of songs dedicated to caffeinated beverages. (Consider this me casting my Song of the Summer ballot in favor of “that me, espresso.”)
The whole thing left me feeling quite inspired. So here are a few on-theme treats to make as you listen to “Espresso,” followed by Lindsay’s mix:
If you’re working late because you’re a singer, make Eric Kim’s affogato (five minutes).
If you can’t sleep (baby I know), spend time with a project bake, like Natasha Pickowicz’s chocolate whiskey cake with coffee caramel (two hours, 35 minutes).
And if you need that morning coffee, we brewed it for ya: Here’s the only cold brew recipe you’ll ever need (five minutes, with overnight resting).
Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
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