Mushroom Stroganoff with Brown Rice

Portabello, shitakes, and browns - yum!

AJ and I stumbled across a PETA brochure at Garden Fresh Veggie Restaurant in Mountain View, CA. While I am not always a proponent of their scare tactics or their messages, they did have a recipe for a mushroom stroganoff that looked intriguing. I tweaked their recipe slightly.

One of our favorite stands at the Farmer's market has been the mushroom table, they always have some unusual ones to try. This time we stuck with some more basic varities, which I think really work well in this dish.

Another reason to save scraps of veggies - you can make your own stock!

The recipe called for vegetable stock, which brought back horrible memories of the last vegetable stock I bought from the store. It seriously tasted like they poured tap water into the container. Where were the vegetables, the herbs? I knew I would be making my own, having saved up scraps of asparagus, squash skin, leftover portabellos, onion, garlic, and a ton of fresh herbs. Add about 4 cups water, bring to a boil and then let simmer for two hours. The smell is wonderful, reminding me of my mother's fabulous stuffing. AJ thought it smelled like his family's aromatic spaghetti sauce.

Simmering my mushroom sauce - low and slow baby.

The vegetable stock, combined with onions, garlic, mushrooms, roux, and balsamic vinegar made for a delicious sauce. I added a couple tablespoons of plain yogurt for some extra tang and creaminess. Served over rice, you can't ask for a more comforting meal.

Acting like a mushroom, although I would say it looks like I'm "on" 'shrooms.

Chowing down!

Mushroom Stroganoff

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 medium onion, diced

3 cup quartered shitake, button, and portabello mushrooms

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp white whole wheat flour

1 3/4 cup vegetable stock

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp italian seasoning

1/4 tsp fresh thyme

2 tbsp plain nonfat yogurt

Heat oil and saute onion and mushrooms. Melt butter and sprinkle flour on top and cook to a paste. Add herbs and the vegetable stock, balsamic vinegar and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20-25 minutes. Mix yogurt into sauce and heat through. Serve over brown rice or noodles. Garnish with parsley.

2 out of 3 JAMs