Ingredients:
4 large sheets roasted nori
1 loaf (20 ounces) crusty bread, torn into 1 to 1 ½-inch pieces (about 12 cups)
5 tablespoonsneutral oil (like safflower or grapeseed), divided
2 tablespoonsnutritional yeast
3 teaspoonskosher salt, divided, plus more
3 1/2 ounces(3 cups) whole dried shiitake mushrooms
1 poundcremini or button mushrooms, washed, stems trimmed, and quartered
Freshly ground black pepper
12 garlic cloves, smashed, peeled, and chopped
3 scallions, thinly sliced on a bias
Good extra-virgin olive oil, to serve
Directions:
Heat oven to 325°F. Tear the nori into pieces and blitz in a spice grinder or blender until mostly fine, like nutritional yeast flakes.
Spread the bread onto a sheet tray, drizzle with 4 tablespoons of oil, and toss to evenly coat. Sprinkle with the nutritional yeast, half of the ground nori, ½ teaspoon salt, and toss to evenly coat. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Bake, tossing once during cooking, until toasty and crisp, 40 to 45 minutes. Once the bread is out of the oven, increase oven temperature to 375°F.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the shiitakes, 8 cups of water, 2 teaspoons of salt, and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover, and cook until the shiitakes are tender and the liquid is flavorful, about 30 minutes.
Strain the shiitake broth into a 4-cup measuring cup. Once the shiitakes are cool enough to handle, remove and discard the stems and thinly slice the caps.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and heat until shimmering. Add the creminis and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shrunken and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. (If at any point there’s too much browning on the bottom of the skillet, add a splash of water and scrape it up with a wooden spoon.)
Add the chopped garlic and continue to cook until the mushrooms are deeply browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Add ½ cup of shiitake broth to the pan and scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Add the croutons to a big bowl and scrape the cooked cremini mixture on top. Add the sliced shiitakes, the remaining ground nori, and toss everything to combine. Add enough shiitake broth to make the bread moist but not soggy (you may not use it all—but if you need more, add water as needed). Toss to combine and taste the mixture, add more salt and pepper if needed. Transfer the mixture to a 3- to 4-quart casserole dish.
Bake until steamy and brown, 40 to 45 minutes.
Serve warm or hot. Just before serving, sprinkle with the scallions and drizzle olive oil on top.