Vegan Portobello and Porcini Mushroom Stroganoff

One of the difficulties when I first started going with a plant based diet was finding dishes that provided a "satisfying" meal. I could eat a pile of rice, veggies and beans and still feel completely dis-satisfied with what I ate. On the other hand it's easy to fool yourself into thinking being "plant based" means you're free to eat all the oreo cookies you desire without consequence.  I found the keys for me were texture and dietary fat. I saw this recipe in the forks over knives cookbook and it sounded pretty delicious. The dried porcinis had a "beefy" smell and mushrooms tend to have a good mouth chewy texture (I used abalone mushrooms to great textural effect) and the use of a tofu "sour cream" gave the dish a good richness.  So it checked all the boxes for good potential.

Here are the ingredients, pretty simple: shallots, dry white wine, garlic, some eggless pasta (well they say they may have trace amounts of egg but it wasn't in the main ingredients list), rosemary, thyme, tofu sour cream, portobello caps and dried porcini mushrooms (being reconstituted in the picture)

Mise en place.  (I was playing with the filters on the phone to try to give me some color balance against the hood lights, I'm working getting some lights)

You start sautéing the the aromatics and then the portobello. Adding a bit of water to keep things from burning (no oil was used, and I was using a non stick pan)

Then you dump in the porcini with the soaking liquid and after bit the white wine and let it cook down. (I used a cheap sauvignon blanc) it will thicken up a bit. Give it a taste and adjust with salt and pepper.

Finally off heat stir in the tofu sour cream. I found the sour cream at Natural Grocers but it's at Whole foods (and their 365 markets).

And done. (well cook the pasta according to the directions while your sauce is simmering) I really enjoyed this dish. I recommend giving it a try for your next meatless Monday! I made some adjustments to the recipe but nothing too significant. (mainly for leftover ingredients convenience reasons and breaking apart the directions for readability)


Mushroom Stroganoff
Original recipe from Forks over Knives Cookbook

2 large shallots peeled and finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp of minced thyme
1 Tbsp minced rosemary
1 pound of portobello mushrooms chopped into large pieces (1 inch pieces)
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, soaked for 30 mins in 1.25 cups of boiling water roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
187 ml dry white wine (one small bottle out of a "four pack" of wine)
6 oz of tofu sour cream
1 lb fettuccine noodles (cooked according to package directions)

Place shallots in large skillet and turn heat up to medium heat. Cook until soft, constantly stirring and adding a couple of tablespoons of water to keep the shallots from burning. 

Add garlic and thyme to the skillet and cook for an additional minute.

Stir in Mushroom and rosemary and cook until the mushroom pieces are soft about 8-10 mins.

Add porcini mushrooms with soaking liquid and wine. Turn heat to medium low and let simmer for 20 mins. The sauce should thicken a bit.  (while this is happening Cook noodles according to instructions.)

Turn off heat and add in Tofu sour cream and mix thoroughly, letting the residual heat warm up the sour cream. 

Serve over pasta. 

Serves 4