This Shiitake Fried Rice Recipe from Meatless: More Than 200 of the Very Best Vegetarian Recipes (Clarkson Potter, January 2013) by Martha Stewart Living is a must-add to your Meatless Monday lineup. Fried rice is a restaurant standby that’s easy to make at home, especially if you have leftover rice. It’s also open to many interpretations, depending on the vegetables in your crisper (think carrots, broccoli, and snap peas). Frozen edamame is a handy shortcut; keep some in the freezer for adding protein to other stir-fries, as well as to soups and salads.

Shiitake Fried Rice
Recipe from Meatless by Martha Stewart Living
Serves 4

1 tablespoon plus
1 teaspoon canola oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
¼ to ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 2 to 3 limes)
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium. Add eggs; season with salt and pepper. Cook until set, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let cool; roll up and thinly slice crosswise.

2. In same skillet, heat remaining tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add mushrooms, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes; season with salt. Cook, tossing frequently, until mushrooms are tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Add rice, eggs, edamame, scallions, lime juice, and soy sauce. Cook, tossing, until rice is heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Per serving:
456 calories, 11 g fat (1.5 g saturated fat), 105.75 mg cholesterol, 71 g carbohydrates, 16 g protein, 8 g fiber

Allison Malec is a Marketing Manager at Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, and is an editor at The Recipe Club. She lives in New York City, and loves to cook, bake and eat. She loves anything sweet, especially Momofuku Milk Bar’s Compost Cookies, Ben and Jerry’s Oatmeal Cookie Crunch Ice Cream, and Vanilla Mr. Softee cones with rainbow sprinkles.

I love pasta dishes with creamy sauces. And I love mushrooms. So when I stumbled upon this Rigatoni with Creamy Mushroom Sauce recipe from Giada at Home (Clarkson Potter, 2010) by Giada De Laurentiis, I was sold. I substituted whole wheat farfalle for the rigatoni that Giada suggested, and it worked out perfectly! The creamy mascarpone cheese and the white wine make the sauce thick and indulgent. The dish was ready in thirty minutes flat, and was definitely a hit. A weeknight meal for sure!

Rigatoni with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Recipe from Giada at Home
4 to 6 servings

1 pound rigatoni pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound assorted mushrooms (such as cremini, shiitake, or button), cleaned and sliced
1⁄2 cup dry white wine
1⁄2 cup vegetable broth
1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1⁄2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1⁄4 cup chopped fresh chives

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn the heat to high. Add the wine and cook for 3 minutes, or until all the liquid evaporates. Add the broth and simmer until the liquid is slightly reduced.

Remove the pan from the heat. Add the mascarpone cheese and stir until creamy. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water, and transfer to a serving bowl. Add the mushroom mixture and the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and toss well to coat the pasta, adding the reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Garnish with the chopped chives.