Mushroom & Butterbean Stroganoff
Winter and comfort food go together like rugby and biltong. I way prefer cooking in winter – I find rich stews, pot dinners and pastas far more inspiring to make than salads. But what happens when you don’t eat meat? It’s not as straightforward as throwing lamb and veggies in a pressure cooker…or is it? I’ve found that with the right recipe it’s actually quicker, and in some cases easier, to make a winter warming plant based dish.
Here are some of my top tips for vegan stews and casseroles.
- When in doubt, use mushrooms. They are the veggie equivalent of meat and provide all the flavour and texture for a savoury base.
- Learn how to make one good sauce/gravy and adapt it with different spices and flavourings depending on what you’re making.
- To make a one-pot pressure cooker stew, use root vegetables and a raw legume like lentils. The pressure cooker means less cooking time and it allows the legumes to soak up the flavour of the liquid. I’ll be posting a lentil bolognese recipe in the coming days that does exactly this – it tastes so similar to mince bolognese.
Beef stroganoff was always once of my staple dishes. The meaty, mushroomy flavour never failed to disappoint, and it’s versatile in that it can be served on just about anything from rice to pasta to quinoa. For this butterbean version, I made a batch of cauliflower rice for a low carb option.
Note: this is to date the BEST mushroom sauce I have ever made! You can make the sauce independently of the stroganoff and use it in other dishes as well. It would make an excellent burger topping.
Mushroom & Butterbean Stroganoff
Ingredients:
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tsp chopped garlic
- 400g mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 200ml plant milk of choice
- 200ml vegetable stock
- 1 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 x 410g cans butterbeans, drained
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup of coconut cream