Mushroom Bourguignon

Mushroom Bourguignon

Vegan, one pot, 1 hr, serves 4

Ingredients

The stew
chestnut mushrooms  600g, halved
shallots            250g, peeled and whole
carrots             3, in thick chunks
garlic              3 cloves, sliced
red wine            250ml
vegetable stock     400ml
tomato puree        2 tbsp
plain flour         2 tbsp
olive oil           2 tbsp

The aromatics
thyme               few sprigs
bay leaves          2
salt and pepper     to season

Chestnut mushrooms have the most flavour. A handful of dried porcini soaked in the stock pushes it deeper.
Small shallots or frozen pearl onions save the peeling. Whole, so they stay intact in the braise.
A wine good enough to drink. Cheap and harsh shows in the sauce.

Recipe

1. Heat half the oil in the Dutch oven over medium high heat. Brown the mushrooms hard, in batches, until deeply coloured. Lift them out.

Do not crowd the pot or they steam and go grey. The dark sear is where the meaty flavour comes from.

2. Rest of the oil in, then soften for 8 minutes:

[shallots 250g whole, carrots 3, garlic 3 cloves sliced]

3. Stir in the tomato puree for a minute, then the flour for another. Pour in the wine and let it bubble down by half, scraping the bottom of the pot.

4. Mushrooms back in, then lid on and simmer 30 minutes until the carrots are tender and the sauce is glossy:

[vegetable stock 400ml, thyme few sprigs, bay leaves 2]

It should end as a thick gravy that coats the mushrooms. If it is still thin, lid off for the last 10 minutes.

5. Season and pull out the bay. Serve over mashed potato to catch the sauce.

Better the next day, like any braise.
For hands off, do the braise at step 4 with the lid on in the oven at 140°C for 40 minutes.

❄ Freezer
Freeze: cool fully, freeze in portions for up to 3 months.
Reheat: from frozen in a pan on low, a splash of water if it tightens.

Sources: Nora Cooks, The Simple Veganista.