This recipe has had elements taken from this BBC Food recipe and this Bosh! one and been mashed together.
It took me a while to discover how to extract the best from the humble ‘shroom. The rules in my book are:
1) know your ‘shrooms! You could spend a fortune on an unsuitable type and/or cook poorly and be very disappointed or go cheaper, cook right and be very happy.
2) use a high smoke point oil (e.g. rapeseed or sunflower) Never crowd the pan, always fry in batches until well caramelised (think steak level charring).
3) put them into a hot pan, resist the urge to stir them too much and only salt once you have the desired colour-salt will make them sweat and steam/sweat rather than fry. Apparently, due to a polymer in their cell walls (chitin), mushrooms are remarkably heat stable which means they’re virtually impossible to overcook so take the time to get a well coloured mush.
The beauty of a stroganoff is you can serve it with pretty much any starchy carb you wish-mash, pasta and rice all work well. The Bosh lads put veggie sausages in theirs but I stick with tinned pulses generally unless I want to upgrade it a little for guests. I do however tend to add the ‘optional’ extra
I used spring onions but leeks, shallots, brown onions all do the job.
Prep under 30 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 600g chestnut mushrooms (or a mixture) cut into thick slices
- 1 can of cannelini or butter beans, drained (optional)
- 1 large onion (about 200g) or 5 shallots finely diced
- 5 cloves garlic, crushed
- 3 tsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp vegan ‘butter’ (i used Naturli, or use more oil)
- 1⁄2 tsp ground black pepper
- 3⁄4 tsp dried thyme or the leaves from 2 fresh sprigs
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 250ml vegetable stock
- 250 ml plant based creme fraiche or single cream alternative or cream cheese mixed with plant milk to single cream consistency or 15g rolled oats blitzed with a high powered blender
- a few dashes of Henderson’s relish or vegan Worcestershire sauce or tamari
- 150ml white wine (optional)
- Nutritional yeast to taste (optional)
- Fresh chopped parsley
- salt
Method
1. Heat 1 tsp oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large frying pan. Add half the mushrooms in a single layer and fry on a medium heat until browned all over. Set these aside and repeat with 1 more tsp oil, 1 tbsp butter and the remaining mushrooms. Set these aside with the others once browned.
2. Add the remaining oil in, add the shallots and fry for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for 1 minute.
3.Add the white wine (if using) followed by the browned mushrooms. Stir in the smoked paprika, mustard, thyme, pepper and Hendersons. Gently stir in the the drained beans. Pour in the stock and cook for a few minutes, then turn the heat down as low as possible.
4.Mix the crème fraîche with the lemon juice, then spoon into the mushroom mixture and slowly stir through (the heat should be at the absolute minimum to prevent the cream from separating). Season with salt and pepper to taste, and nutritional yeast if wished.
5.Top your chosen starchy carb with the mushroom stroganoff and garnish with chopped parsley