A one-skillet main dish made from separately browned components.
- Yield: approximately 1.1 kg of cooked dish
Ingredients
- 420 g shiitake mushrooms
- 300 g raw chicken hearts
- 300 g onion
- 75 g celery
- 730 g zucchini
- Butter, as needed for frying
- Salt and black pepper, used sparingly
- Total raw weight of the mushrooms, hearts, and vegetables: 1,825 g
Equipment
- Wide 12-inch skillet
- Large bowl
- Grater or spiralizer
Preparation
- Halve the raw chicken hearts. Melt a little butter in the wide skillet and begin frying the hearts.
- Chop the onion and celery. Add them to the hearts and continue frying until the hearts are cooked through and the vegetables have softened. Use the thermometer to determine doneness rather than relying only on time.
- Transfer the hearts, onion, and celery to a bowl. Keep the bowl warm if convenient.
- Fry the shiitake mushrooms in the same skillet until browned, then transfer them to the bowl.
- Grate or spiralize the zucchini into thin strips.
- Return the skillet to relatively high heat and spread the zucchini across it.
- Leave the zucchini undisturbed for about 7 minutes, longer than may initially feel comfortable, so that the underside can brown.
- Turn it carefully only once or twice. Avoid frequent stirring: the goal is browned, somewhat crisp zucchini “pasta,” not a wet vegetable mixture.
- Return the hearts, onion, celery, and mushrooms to the skillet.
- Fold everything together lightly and heat only briefly.
- Season lightly with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Why the Separate Cooking Works
- Mushrooms and zucchini both release substantial amounts of water.
- Cooking each component separately allows this water to evaporate before the pan becomes crowded.
- The higher pan temperature improves browning and reduces steaming.
- Leaving the zucchini undisturbed maintains contact with the hot skillet and limits damage to the strips.
Storage and Flavor Notes
- The zucchini is best served immediately; refrigeration softens its browned surface.
- Reheat in a wide, hot skillet to evaporate moisture and recover some browning.