Easy mushroom stroganoff

Post By  Jo @ Including Cake

I often make mushroom gravy as a vegetarian alternative to serve with my Sunday nut roast. Then another thought occurred to me... reduce the liquid content just a little, keep the mushrooms nice and chunky (to be fair I chopped them a little too small in the photos!) and then you have a thick and creamy mushroom stroganoff ready to be served over a bed of rice.... or quinoa as I decided when I took these photos. It's a great simple dish and really warming on cold winter days.

It keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days and could easily be blended further with a little water to make a sauce or gravy. The perfect kind of 'two-ways with one-dish' recipe!

I have used cashew paste in this recipe but almond paste would also work- they just have to add a rich, thick creaminess to the dish so you want to use a mild flavoured paste.

Recipe: Mushroom stroganoff

Serves 2-3

Ingredients 

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 red onion, diced
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 250g button mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried mixed herbs
• 1 tbs fresh rosemary (or increase dried herbs)
• 1 ½ cups vegetable stock
• ½ cup cold water
• 1/4 cup cashew paste (almond paste could also be used)
• 2 tablespoons liquid aminos (or soy sauce)
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• ¼ cup arrowroot powder
• Freshly-ground sea salt and pepper to taste

Method

 Add the oil to a saucepan over low-medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for about 3 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Stir in mushrooms and herbs and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes or until mushrooms start to become tender. 

While mushrooms are cooking, add the vegetable stock, the liquid aminos, nutritional yeast and cashew paste to a blender and blend until smooth (or use a hand whisk). Add the mixture to the pot and bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the cold water and arrowroot powder to form a smooth mixture paste. Add mixture to pot slowly, mixing constantly to ensure that paste dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Note: Makes about 3 cups. I find this thickens over time, so if not serving straight away and you plan to re-heat later, you may need to add a little extra liquid as desired.