4 Mushroom Stroganoff with Flax Noodles

Sometimes I have to practice what I will now refer to Food Meditation.  By this I mean the very important task of relaxing my mind and body, emptying it of all the anxiety and stress, of every one else around me, and finally letting my bodily desire for a particular mode of nourishment flow into consciousness.  Mushrooms.

I really do this. Why mushrooms? I don't know, maybe they are actually what my body needs right now, as in it needs B vitamins and selenium or something.  Or I have been feeling especially fungal lately.  I wish I could just live on my food source and be a food source. Meta.

Anyways, here is a recipe for Mushroom Stroganoff that I made.

4 Tb of margarine

1 cup of pearl onions (blanch to remove baby skins)

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 1/2 Tb of flour

One package of white button mushrooms, sliced thickly

6 shitakke mushrooms, sliced thinly

4 oyster mushrooms, sliced

1 portabella, sliced

1/2 head of napa cabbage, shredded

2 cups of broth

2 Tb cornstarch

2 tsp vegan Worcestershire

squirt of Braggs

3/4 cup red wine

1/2 cup of tomato sauce (you can use ketchup too, maybe a little less)

1 tsp fresh thyme, minced

1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, minced

white and black pepper

salt

1/2 cup of creamy brazil nut milk, or any thicker creamy nut milk

Dill weed

Begin by preheating a cast iron or dutch oven with 4 Tb of margarine. Saute sliced onions and pearl onions until translucent and even slightly browned.  Add the flour and combine into oniony roux. Stir for a minute or two and then add the red wine.  Cook off for 30 seconds.  Add all the mushrooms and the cabbage. In the meantime, dissolve the cornstarch into the broth, adding the Worcestershire, Braggs, and tomato sauce to the mixture.  Then add all of these liquids to the pot, stirring and making sure there are no clumps.  Bring to a simmer, then add the rosemary, thyme, salt and peppers.  

Let simmer for about 15 minutes, then check for consistency, color and for well-cooked mushrooms.  It should be very much like thick gravy, with a burgundy hue to it.  It may need to be thinned out a little bit, which is why we are waiting until this point to add the nut milk. Trouble shoot: if the sauce is too thin, dissolve some cornstarch into some nut milk and add it to the pot. You may also include some fresh dill weed right before serving.  

How to serve stroganoff:

In a bowl

  over 'flax egg' noodles

with vegan sour cream                                           

a sprinkle of paprika  

fresh herbs

and oven baked crispy potato chips