Mushroom Strokemeoff
We’ve all heard about the impacts of meat consumption on the health of both our bodies and the environment, and it’s no truffling matter. If, like me, you’re endeavoring to exercise good social morels and reduce meat consumption, shrooms are an excellent sub.
I know there are plenty of anti-mushroom campaigners out there, but maybe you just need to give fungi a chance, ex-spore a little, you might just find they grow on you.
Take this mushroom stroganoff, it’s a dinner of champignons and may just change your mind. It’s also perfect for vegetarian night, there isn’t mushroom here for meat anyway!
(In saying that a cheeky lil bit of bacon wouldn’t go astray because bacon makes everything gooderer, but I’m pretty sure the pure delight of salty pig puts it outside the vego rules, doesn’t it?)
Get this stuff
1 onion, brown or red, diced
2 cloves garlic or 2 tsp crushed from a jar
500 grams mushrooms, any sort you fancy, chopped, diced and sliced
1/2 C white wine, any old shite will do, don’t waste the good stuff (sub in extra stock if you don’t have any wine dregs to use)
1/2 C vegetable stock
1/2 C plain greek yoghurt or sour cream if you’re feeling like going OTT
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 Tbl worcestershire sauce (don’t ask me to say that, it’s a physical impossibility, especially after sampling some/ much of the cooking wine)
1 tsp paprika
1-2 Tbl thyme or oregano - whatever you can find will work just fine to add herby freshness + extra to garnish
A good handful of parsley to garnish
Olive oil or butter for cooking
Cauli rice, real rice, couscous, quinoa or a mix of whatever you fancy to serve.
Do this with it
Heat a good blob of oil or knob of butter (maybe a tablespoon? Who measures these things?) in a large heavy based pan. Throw in the onion and sautée gently over a medium heat for about 5 minues until soft and fragrant.
Add the garlic and paprika, stir well and cook for another minute or so.
Toss in the chopped mushrooms, season well with salt and pepper and continue to cook over a med until they start of soften and shrink down.
Pour in the wine or stock (and one for yourself), stock worcestershire sauce and mustard, get it all bubbling then continue cooking for another 4 or 5 minutes or so to allow the sauce to reduce and thicken.
Remove from the heat and dollop in the yoghurt or sour cream and fresh herbs, stir well to incorporate the creamy goodness into the wine sauce. You need to make sure the pan isn’t too hot here or the sauce may split and, like an acrimonious, name-calling break up, there’s not much coming back from that.
Serve over your choice real or veggie rice or whatever grainy base you fancy, sprinkle over a good handful of parsley to finish and add some greens on the side for extra veggie points.
Change it up
Turn it into a Japanese inspired meal by adding some of those weird and wonderful Asian mushies like shiitake, enoki, wood ear and oyster into the mix, then;
Replace the mustard and paprika with a small dollop of wasabi paste
Replace the wine with 2-3 generous Tbl miso paste mixed into 1/2 C water
Use chopped spring onions instead of oregano, thyme or parsley
Finish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds gently toasted in a hot pan
I did this version with leftover pulled pork tossed through, soooo, not even a little bit vegetarian any more, but very fucking pleasing.
