» Recipes and notes from “The Chef and the Slow Cooker,”

This is a recipe for your virtuous meatless Monday. You will be laughing at all the suckers eating dry, lifeless veggie burgers while you dig into the meaty deliciousness of braised shiitakes. Mushrooms braise into delectable morsels with near-meat consistency, and they really could become a staple protein replacement at your table. This is a simple recipe, yet it yields stunning results and makes a nice supper when served with rice.

4 cups water 2 tablespoons red miso

paste

¼ cup rice vinegar 3 shallots, sliced into thin

rings

2 tablespoons minced

fresh ginger Kosher salt

2 pounds fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps left whole

3 Thai (bird’s-eye) chilies, seeded and sliced into thin rings

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1 small yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

½ pound firm tofu, cut into ½-inch-thick planks, seasoned with a pinch of salt and pressed (see note below)

¼ cup freshly torn Thai basil leaves

Preheat a slow cooker on the high setting for at least 15 minutes.

Pour 4 cups of water into the slow cooker. Add the miso, vinegar, shallots, ginger, and ½ teaspoon salt, whisking well to fully dissolve the miso. Then add the mushrooms and Thai chilies, cover with the lid, and cook on the high setting for 1 hour.

Add the bell pepper and tofu to the mushroom mixture, re-cover the cooker, and cook for 1 hour more, still on the high setting. To finish, add the basil, mix well, season with salt to taste, and serve in a deep platter or a bowl.

Slow cooker size: 4-plus quarts

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 2 hours Serves: 4 to 6 Note: Pressing tofu Tofu has a lot of water in it, so it’s often pressed to expel some, leaving you with a denser, chewier, more flavorful bite. At home I just place a big colander in the sink and then find a plate that nestles in it tightly. Cut the tofu into large 1-inchthick rectangles, arrange them in a single layer in the colander, and place the plate over them. Weight the plate down with a brick or with cans of beans or whatever. An hour later, you have pressed tofu. You can also press the tofu between two heavy plates in the fridge overnight. This ain’t rocket science.