"STROGANOFF"

MMM!!! This was a recipe that I was dying to try for a while now. I decided to try it today because tomorrow I am starting my 15-day detox where I will only be consuming raw fruits and vegetables in the form of juice. I have always liked beef stroganoff as a kid and it was something that my dad would make every so often. I started searching vegan recipes and I came across this one:

Mushroom and Kale “Stroganoff”

serves two

• 2 servings whole wheat pasta

prepare the pasta as directed in salted water. When it is cooked, drain ad set aside, reserving one cup of the water for later use.

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 T. olive oil
• 1 1/2 c. sliced mushrooms
• 3 large kale leaves, thinly sliced
• 1/4 t. fennel seed
• salt and pepper, to taste

In a large pan, heat the olive oil and then add in the onion. You might need to add a little bit of water. You want to cook them until they start to brown/get a little crispy on the outer edges, though – so don’t use too much oil. Add in the mushrooms, kale, fennel seed and salt and pepper. Add in a couple of tablespoons of water and cover until the mushrooms are tender and the kale is bright green, stirring ocassionally.

• 1 c. reserved pasta water
• 1 T. white bean flour (for thickening – you could use any type of bean flour/flour/cornstarch, though I am unsure of amount exchange if using cornstarch)
• 2 T. roasted red pepper hummus
• 1/2 T. pub-style dijon mustard
• 1 T. nutritional yeast

In a small mixing bowl, whisk all together until smooth. It is best to do this while the water is still hot.

Once the kale and mushroom mixture is cooked, pour in the liquid. Lower the heat and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Allow to thicken about ten minutes, still stirring often. Once thickened, shut off heat and let sit one minute. Gently stir in the pasta.

You can see the original recipe here.

I was very satisfied with this recipe because it did taste a lot like stroganoff but it was vegan.

Here were the steps I took:

I first cut up the mushrooms, onions and kale. I sauteed them in a pan with olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper and fennel seed. (I was a little apprehensive about the fennel seed because I'm not really a fan of the licorice taste but you can barely taste it here and I think it balances the flavors well)

While the veggies were cooking I boiled the water for the pasta and measured out all the ingredients for the sauce. In a bowl I added the nutritional yeast, flour (I didn't have white bean flour so I used plain unbleached all-purpose flour), red pepper hummus, and dijon mustard.

Once the noodles are cooked, before you drain them you want to measure out one cup of water and add it to the sauce mixture. Whisk this until it is smooth and add it to your mushroom and kale mixture.

After you add the sauce to the mushrooms and kale, bring it to a light boil and simmer until the sauce thickens. Then ladle the sauce on top of your noodles and voila! Vegan Stroganoff! =)