Homage at Home: Tavern's Warm Mushroom Salad

I liked the warm mushroom salad at Tavern so much, I wanted to make it at home. At Tavern, it's served over radicchio with hazelnuts and shaved pecorino cheese, but I couldn't find radicchio the day I chose to make it for a dinner party so I improvised by using baby spinach. I don't recall the mushrooms used by Tavern; I selected cremini, oyster, and enoki mushrooms. A different spin, but it worked.

Warm Mushroom Salad with Spinach, Hazelnuts and Pecorino

Ingredients:
Olive oil
Shallot
3 cups mushrooms (cremini, oyster, enoki, or whatever you choose)
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1/2 cup shaved pecorino cheese
Balsamic vinegar
Salt
Pepper

Preparation:
Chop hazelnuts in half and toast until lightly browned. Set aside.

Shave pecorino cheese and set aside.

Cut mushrooms into bite-size pieces and set aside.

Chop shallot and soften it with olive oil in a large saute pan.

Add mushrooms and 1 cup of red wine. Partially cover and simmer until mushrooms are tender.

Strain mushrooms from remaining liquid and set aside in a bowl.

Toss spinach with hazelnuts, pecorino, and warm mushrooms, and dress with a balsamic vinaigrette (I add a teaspoon of agave nectar to mine).

Season.

Enjoy.