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Shiitake Butternut Ragout

Vegetarian fare is always on the menu at Inn Season Café

By Cathy Nelson

In the competitive, sometimes cutthroat, restaurant business, lasting a quarter of a century is something of a rarity. To survive that long without the people behind the scenes losing sight of why they opened in the first place is rarer indeed.

But that’s exactly the case with Royal Oak’s Inn Season Café. Since 1981, its mission of offering healthy vegetarian and vegan world cuisine using organic, seasonal and locally grown ingredients has kept the restaurant thriving.

Stop by the brick building at the corner of Fourth Street and Knowles just off downtown any day of the week except Monday, when the café is closed. There you’ll find vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike sitting at the high-backed booths and wooden dining tables, enjoying both classic and unique, inventive dishes in a non-smoking environment, against a backdrop of walls graced by the works of local artists.

Owner and head chef Thomas Lasher – who’s worked at Inn Season for 23 years, and bought the establishment five years ago with partner Nick Raftis – has a hands-on philosophy and makes it a point to be in the kitchen every day. Everything on the menu is homemade, from the dressings to the popular Budapest Mushroom Soup, an Inn Season mainstay for years. Diners can choose from the regular menu, where highlights include salads, Mexican cuisine, pizza, stir-fries, and The Big Baprawski tempeh double-decker burger, or a special menu with seasonal-themed dishes that changes daily.

Or try Sunday brunch, when selections include vegan French toast and crêpes, frittatas made with organic free-range eggs, and the Inn Season Special of scrambled tofu with smoked maple tempeh, served with Yukon gold potatoes and corn bread. Even the beverage choices are unique, with smoothies, fresh juices, natural sparkling sodas and hot kukicha, a Japanese twig tea served in fine china.

Inn Season also serves vegan desserts (dairy desserts are also available) rich enough to satisfy any sweet tooth. Try not to drool over the Pumpkin Cheeseless Cake, served with candied pecans and apple cider sauce, or Grandma’s Vegan Chocolate Cake with peanut butter fudge frosting and vegan hot fudge garnish.

In keeping with Inn Season’s theme of offering dishes chock-full of in-season ingredients (hence the café’s name), this month’s featured recipe is Shiitake Butternut Ragout. The dish is a mélange of winter favorites such as butternut squash, shiitake mushrooms, leeks and shallots. Serve it with rice, pasta or couscous. And if you really want to enhance the wintry feel, enjoy noshing in front of the fireplace or by candlelight.

INN SEASON CAFÉ’S SHIITAKE BUTTERNUT RAGOUT

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 cup diced shallots
• 2 cups leeks, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 4 cups fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed
• 4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
• 6-7 whole sage leaves
• 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons shogu (soy sauce)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat olive oil in a pan, add garlic and shallots, and sauté for 30 seconds. Add leeks and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Add shiitake mushrooms and butternut squash, and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Add wine, shogu, mustard, sage and thyme.

Cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes, until butternut squash is tender. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve with pasta, couscous or wild rice.