What We’re Into
April 04, 2023
Let’s Taco ‘Bout
Mushrooms
We love stopping by the mushroom forager at the farmers market and admiring all the exotic varieties, but we also delight in the simplicity of button mushrooms. At Chaia, we serve organic button mushrooms from Pennsylvania all year round. The trick to making button mushrooms as flavorful as their more glamorous kin is to let the liquid cook off at a high temperature. A typical button mushroom is about 90% water. It is essential to eliminate the excess moisture, thereby concentrating the earthy and umami flavors hidden within. We start with olive oil and lots of freshly chopped garlic in a large saute pan over medium heat. We then add the mushrooms and cook them over high heat, uncovered until all the moisture evaporates and the mushrooms caramelize and turn a dark brown. This is the approach we take for all of our menu creations starring mushrooms.
BRAISED MUSHROOM TACO feta, salsa roja and cilantro
MUSHROOM ENCHILADAS pepperjack, salsa asada and cilantro with green rice
MUSHROOM QUESADILLA jack cheese, olio picante and salsa paprika
*****Vegan Options Available******
Sweet Enough
While we are on the topic of mushrooms, last Thursday, we attended a sold-out book event at Sixth & I featuring Alison Roman and her new cookbook Sweet Enough. You know Our Story that Bettina and Suzanne are long-time friends who met when they were in a cookbook club together, and you know we love to devour cookbooks. This past weekend we tried Alison’s Many Mushroom Pot Pie- “the best-tasting thing in the book”.
Happy Spring,
Happy Passover and Happy Easter
We look forward to seeing many of our Spring favorites (the Moroccan Carrot Taco, the Asparagus Taco, and our Chaia Slaw) back on the menu. It’s just a sampling of what to get excited about over the coming weeks.