This
recipe is especially for all my friends who live alone and/or are
struggling with cooking and want to impress guests once in a while. Arun I can already see you smile. I will give you 2 options for this sauce. I know, I said earlier I
love using fresh ingredients but sometimes even I use short cuts and
the help of ready-to-cook products.
For the
1st version I take 30g onion, 2 garlic cloves and
300 g of mushrooms. I cut it all into small dices. In a deep
pan I melt 1 tablespoon of butter and add the onions and garlic to
it. I fry them over low heat for about 2 minutes than I add the
mushrooms and stir-fry the mixture for about 5 minutes to release the
water from the mushrooms. I add 350ml vegetable stock to it
and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. To get the creamy
consistence I pour the mixture in a blender and blend
it until I have a smooth mass. Than it all goes back
into the pan over low heat. Add 50ml of wine and let simmer
for a few minutes. In a small bowl I mix 1 heaped teaspoon of
cornstarch with 50ml cream or milk (that depends on your
taste and the fat content you like in your food). Add the starch
mixture to the mushrooms, stir well and bring to a boil. If the sauce
thickens too much I add a bit more vegetable stock. I season the
sauce with pepper, salt, nutmeg and finely chopped parsley. This is
the base for the mushroom sauce.
If you add
another 200ml of vegetable stock you
have a fresh cream of mushroom soup. Just sprinkle a bit of
fresh cut parsley over as decoration.
Now I cut
30g onion into half centimetre dices. In a deep pan I heat 1
tablespoon of olive oil and cook the onions in ti til they are
soft. While the onions are cooking I clean 400g of mushrooms and
cut them also into half or quarters. I add the mushrooms to the pan
and stir-fry them for a few minutes. I add my sauce base to the
mushrooms and it is all ready to serve with pasta, chicken or whole
grain rice.
To serve
with pasta take 65g of try pasta / person and cook it in lots
of salted water til they are al dente. Put the pasta on a plate, pour
some sauce over it and decorate with some fresh or dry parsley.
This sauce
is also a wonderful combination with chicken or beef. Here fore I
take about 125g of chicken breast/ tenderloin beef per person
and season it with lots of freshly ground pepper. In a teflon
coated pan I heat about 1-2 teaspoons of oil and fry the meat
from both sides til its done and golden brown on the outside.
To get a
chicken/beef mushroom stew I cut the meat into stripes, season it
with pepper and fry it in the pan. Once the meat is fried I mix it
with the mushroom sauce. I serve it either with pasta or whole grain
rice on the side.
So, now to
the 2nd, the super quick, super easy version for which I
cut 40g onion into small dices. In a deep pan I heat 1
tablespoon of olive oil and cook the onions in until they are
soft. While the onions are cooking I clean 400g of mushrooms
and cut them also into half or quarters. I add the mushrooms to the
pan and stir-fry them for a few minutes. In a bowl I mix 1 pack of
instant cream of mushroom soup with the amount of water as stated
on the pack. I prefer products without MSG
(mono-sodium glutamate)
and
preservatives. Here in India I usually use Maggi healthy soups
in other parts of the world similar products. Add the soup to the
mushrooms in the pan and let cook for 5 minutes. And your sauce is
ready. If you want to make it special than replace 50ml of water with
50ml of wine. This recipe gives you 3-4 portions of sauce.
Now you can serve it with meat, pasta or rice and impress your guest. Try it out, I am sure you will get lots of praise from your guests and no one needs to know your secret recipe.
By the way
if you like to try out something different replace the common rice or
pasta with cooked whole wheat grains or quinoa. Both add a nice nutty
flavour to it.
The
picture is showing grilled tenderloin steak with brown rice and the
1st version of the Mushroom sauce.
Enjoy and
have fun in the kitchen!
Love
Carola
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