Meatless Monday: Mushroom stroganoff
"One World Vegetarian Cookbook" by Troth Wells was love at first sight for this 鈥╰raveling vegetarian. It鈥檚 your standard cookbook divided by starters, main dishes, salads, and desserts, but I was smitten with the way 鈥╰he book labels all of its recipes by country.
Perhaps it was the the recipes proposing to take me to India via vegetable 鈥╟urry, to South Africa鈥檚 by way of corn fritter, to Thailand by Tom ka-gai, and to Turkey to learn about "Swooning Imam" (an eggplant bake) that captured me. And that鈥� was just my first flip through. Visions of 鈥╰hemed dinner parties chez moi danced through my mind the rest of the day. 鈥↖鈥╳as committed to the book when the colorful photos that accompanied the 鈥╮ecipes displayed food I could actually see myself making with 鈥╥ngredients I could easily buy at the local grocery store or market.
Could鈥� this be it? A book of recipes that I would happily take 鈥╥nto my kitchen and actually use? To put that question to the test I 鈥╥nvited some friends over for dinner and then sat down with the book and envisioned myself on a culinary travel adventure. Anyone who appreciates 鈥╲egetarian flavors from around the world would love these recipes. (That is, of course, 鈥╳ith the single exception of the Copper Penny carrot recipe from Canada. Cooked carrots = my arch nemesis.)
The doorbell started buzzing announcing the arrival of my dinner guests before I had time to pick out a 鈥╩enu and head to the grocery, so the book's test would be a bit more 鈥╥nteresting. I would have to make do with items I already had in my 鈥╢ridge, including substituting Sprite for cooking wine (thank you, Internet). 鈥ㄢ�═urned 鈥╫ut we鈥檇 be going to Britain. Not exactly a location known for its鈥╡xciting cuisine, none the less I figured if we could do this well, it 鈥╳ould bode well for the rest of the book. The main dish would be mushroom 鈥╯troganoff 鈥� a throwback from my childhood 鈥� and I鈥檇 pair that with a 鈥╯ide of Swiss chard with potatoes and tomatoes (hard not to drool over 鈥╰he picture).
The 鈥╮ecipes were easy to follow, had some surprising twists, and dinner was served in less than half an hour. And the end result? Who knew British food could be so 鈥╰asty! Two friends raved about the chard, which actually did taste as 鈥╣ood as the photo looked, while two others repeatedly praised the 鈥ㄢ�渄elicate鈥� taste of the stroganoff.
With鈥� that, we鈥檒l forgive the author for including cooked carrots and 鈥╣ive the book an A+.
Jenna Fisher is the Monitor's Asia editor.
Mushroom stroganoff
From 'One World Vegetarian Cookbook' by Troth Wells
Serves 4
2 tablespoons canola/vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced finely
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 lb. (450 g) mushrooms, chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
Pinch of nutmeg
1/2 cup white wine or white cooking wine
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons cilantro/coriander, chopped
3 tablespoons yogurt, cream, or cr猫me fraiche
Salt and pepper, to taste
[editor's note: the original posting left out nutmeg in the list of ingredients]
Heat the oil in a large pan and then saut茅 the onion for a few minutes before adding the garlic.
Now turn up the heat and put in the mushrooms. Sprinkle the paprika and nutmeg over them and stir so that they are coated. Cook for about 10 minutes until the mushrooms are soft and brown.
Next, pour in the wine and balsamic vinegar; stir. Reduce the heat and then simmer gently.
Put in the cilantro/coriander and yogurt, cream, or cr猫me fra卯che. Season, mix well and serve over mashed potatoes, egg noodles or rice and with a simple salad.
