Before a seasoned New Yorker comes for me, I know this is nothing close to traditional chopped cheese. However, this mushroom chopped cheese is still a pretty fun sandwich. A tiny bit of French and Japanese influence makes it a blend of worlds.
Carmelized Mushrooms
The sautéed mushrooms here have a meaty charred feel. Miso and honey combo together, creating caramelization. The goal is to recreate the Maillard browning you’d get on the meat. Maillard is the reaction between amino acids and reduced sugars. Responsible for the browning of meat, bread, vegetables, etc. The goal is to mimic the flavor of grilled beef without using substitutes like beyond meat. For me, using mushrooms seems more relatable. I love taking technical influence from some things but not trying to make something it’s not.
Mushroom Chopp cheese influence
The mushrooms in the chopped cheese are similar to french duxelles. Minced mushrooms are sweated with butter and aromatics: thyme, rosemary, garlic, etc. We’re taking the basics of this technique but then flipping it over with the hard sautee at the end. The sweating ensures the mushrooms are cooked and soft. Sauteeing at the end boosts the umami. Traditionally a soft hero roll is used. They’re just another form of a hoagie roll. If you can get your hands on them, go for it. There’s already a hint of french influence in this mushroom chop cheese, so I opted for a baguette.
Fun Sandwich
This sandwich Is just as fun to make as it is to eat. Every time I feel like I’m doing something so wrong. French duxelle and baguette. Japanese miso. It’s all thrown together in a new york classic. We’re making someone cry here, but that’s ok. Have a blast with this recipe. There are loads of mushrooms to chop up here. I typically use Portabella since that’s what I have on hand but use them all. Good ol American is typically used as well, but I’m a cheddar type of guy. If you want to fall down the french cheese rabbit hole go I applaud you. The bottom line is to have a blast with this sandwich. It’s ok if we trigger some folks on this one.
As you see, this mushroom chopped cheese is nothing but the classic. It’s Just a fun sandwich to explore. Some of them get pretty crazy, but this mushroom-chopped cheese sticks to the basics. Bread, meat( mushrooms), cheese, lettuce, tomato ketchup, and mayo. Paying a little extra detail to each component gets us a great sandwich.
Mushroom Chopped cheese
Ingredients
- 2C (97) Mushrooms
- 1/2C (63g) White Onion
- 2 tsp (14g) Butter
- 1 Tbsp (15g) Honey
- 1 & ½ tsp (22g) Miso
- ½ tsp Garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp (20g) white wine
- 10 inch piece Baguette
- 1 tomato
- 1/2C butter lettuce
- 1 tbsp (15g) mayo
- 2 tsp (15g) ketchup
Instructions
- Clean the mushrooms and fine dice. Fine dice the onion
- Clean the butter lettuce. Chop into thin strips. Slice the tomato into 1/4 inch slice. season with salt and reserve for later. Cut the baugette in the middle withought cutting in half. Toast just to warm the bread.
- Mix the miso, honey, and garlic powder until combined.
Sauting the mushrooms
- Add the butter to a pan on medium low. Once heated add the mushrooma nd onion. sweat for 3 minuete until onion are translucent. Add the Miso and honey mixture and increase to medium high. sautte for 2 minuetes until the mushrooms develop a goldern coloron the edges.
- Bring the mushrooms togther in a rectangle shape. place the cheese ontop then add the wine around the mushrooms. place a lid ontop for 30 seconds then remove from heat.
Assembly
- Spread the mayo and ketchup on both sides of the baugette. Add the mushrooms, then the tomato and lettuce. Fold down to close the sandwich and enjoy.
