Three classic recipes given the mushroom makeover
Mushrooms make a great
alternative to meat, providing an extra depth of flavour and texture to a
vegetarian meal. France is famous for its champignons
and the wooded landscape of the Limousin is a fertile hunting ground for
the locals who go crazy for cepes and girolles in the autumn. Out of season,
tinned mushrooms are a great standby and an essential part of the camper van
larder. I can rustle up a mushroom omelette, add eggs and parmesan to make a
mushroom carbonara or make a simple mushroom risotto.
Recently, I discovered some great
quality champignons forestiere in Super U – slightly more expensive than the
usual bog-standard champignons Paris, but they add a lovely dark, rich colour
and flavour to any meal. I decided to experiment with vegetarian versions of
three classic dishes: stroganoff, goulash and daube.
Stroganoff is Russian, originally
made with beef cubes, mustard, bouillion and sour cream. Variations developed
all over eastern Europe with the additions of onions, tomato paste, mushrooms
and paprika. I based my version on a BBC Food recipe, with a few tweaks to make
it camper van friendly, and served it with some spietzle bought on a whim in Aldi, Saarburg that had been sitting
in the cupboard waiting for inspiration.
After the success of the
stroganoff I decided to adapt the recipe to make goulash. Originally a
Hungarian herdsman’s stew or soup – gulyàs, the meat and vegetable-based dish
was seasoned with paprika. I considered a simple bean-based goulash recipe but
decided that the five ingredients: olive oil, onion, tbsp. paprika, tinned
tomatoes and tinned red beans, was perhaps a bit too plain. Instead, I developed
a variation of the stroganoff recipe, but added a tin of tomatoes, a tin of
carrots and tripled the quantity of paprika. Formidable.
Beef en daube is a traditional recipe
of Provence; cheaper cuts of meat are marinated in red wine and herbs and
cooked long and slow in a cast iron daubiére. In the carnivorous past I often made
a version with olives, simmered all day in the slow cooker. Again, the basic
mushroom recipe was easily adapted with the addition of some thyme from the
garden and a handful of olives.
The basic formula of these three
mushroom classics is the same, just a little tweaking is necessary with the
herbs, spices, wine and extra vegetables. All three meet the camper van
criteria: 90% store cupboard ingredients, one pan, maximum thirty minutes
cooking time. They can be served with boiled rice, couscous, pasta, quinoa,
bread or potatoes.
Hmm...I think this is the Daube |
Mushrooms three ways:
Stroganoff, Goulash & Daube
The recipes
Core ingredients
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Stroganoff
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Goulash
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Daube
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Olive oil
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ü
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ü
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ü
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Red onion
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ü
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ü
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ü
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Tin of mushrooms
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ü
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ü
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ü
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Couple of garlic cloves
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ü
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ü
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ü
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Salt and pepper
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ü
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ü
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ü
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100 ml stock (cube)
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ü
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ü
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ü
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2 tbsp tomato puree
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ü
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ü
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ü
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2 tbsp crème fraiche
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ü
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ü
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ü
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Variations
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50 ml wine
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white
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red
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red
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Paprika
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1 tsp
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1 tbsp
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Chilli flakes
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pinch
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pinch
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pinch
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Mustard
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½ tsp
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Chopped herbs
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parsley/coriander
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parsley/coriander
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thyme
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Olives
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handful
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Tin of carrots
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ü
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Tin of tomatoes
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ü
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ü
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The method is the same for all three versions:
1.
Heat olive oil and cook onions until soft.
2.
Add garlic and spices, mix well and cook for a
few minutes.
3.
Add mushrooms and wine and cook for about ten
minutes.
GOULASH & DAUBE: add tinned tomatoes
4.
Add tomato puree, stock cube mixed in 100 ml hot
water and crème fraiche.
5.
DAUBE: add olives
GOULASH: add carrots
6.
Bring to boil and simmer for ten minutes or
less, until sauce reduced to desired consistency.
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