Dandelion & Mushroom Baked Shells

Here is a classic southern France way to cook Dandelions or any other bitter green like escarole, endive, or radicchio.  We’ve adapted the following from a version presented by Geogeanne Brennan in her 1995 France:  The Vegetarian Table (ISBN 978-0811804745) and love the combination of the greens with the sautéed mushrooms and goat milk – Gryueye sauce.  We could only find rather small manicotti shells and it took quite some time to stuff them all.  We suggest you try and find the biggest shells possible to make this last step easier. 

½ cup butter, in all
3 tablespoons white flour
1 teaspoons salt, in all
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground mace
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1½ cups milk, in all
½ cup green onions with tops, minced
½ cup shallots, minced
12 oz. fresh mushrooms, chopped
2 cups dandelion greens (or escarole, endive, radicchio)
¼ cup fine bread crumbs
1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
Pasta shells (canneloni, manicotti, etc), precooked until barely tender

Preheat oven to 350° F.

First you make a roux.  Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.  When bubbling and foamy whisk in the flour, ½ teaspoon salt, mace, black and cayenne pepper.  Continue whisking for a minute.  Then whisk in the milk, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.  Simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally.  When the sauce will coat the back of a spoon, remove from heat.  Pour about a tablespoon of milk over the top to avoid the formation of a dry skin.

Melt another 4 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium heat.  When it is bubbling and foamy, add in the green onions and shallots.  Sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Now add in the mushrooms, and continue to sauté until they begin to cook, about 3 minutes more.  Stir in the greens and cook until just limp, about 2 more minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, ½ of the sauce, and bread crumbs to make a paste. 

Fill each precooked pasta shell with the mushroom-greens mixture.  Using the remaining tablespoon of butter, grease a 12x8” shallow casserole.  Arrange the filled shells snugly in a single layer in the casserole.  Warm the sauce, whisking in the surface milk, and add in ¾ cup of the shredded Gruyere.  Whisk until the cheese melts and the sauce is smooth.  Pour over the filled shells and top with the remaining cheese and additional dabs of butter. 

Place in oven and bake until the cheese is golden and the sauce bubbly, about 20-30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes before serving.

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