We first published this recipe about 18 months ago – you can find it here. Since then we have regularly dipped in to this dish. In so many ways I am always surprised when eating it that there is no meat!!! It certainly doesn’t feel as though anything is missing!! I think this is perhaps because of the range of textures we have now managed to include. The vegetables are left large but of different sizes and shapes – but importantly cut very chunky! We also use both fresh and dried mushrooms that give quite different textures. Widening the variety of textures makes it much easier for meat eaters, like us, to enjoy these plant centric dishes without feeling we are missing anything!
So over the last 18 months we have made just a couple of small adjustments. The recipe below includes all these changes.
The first change was soaking the dried mushrooms for much longer than we used to. If you can soak them for 2-3 hours that is perfect, but certainly more than the 30 mins that we used to use. This is especially effective in a relatively short ‘slow cook’ such as this one.
The second change we made was adding the sautéed fresh mushrooms towards the end of the cook – perhaps 20 minutes before removing from the heat rather than at the start of the cook. That helps to keep the textures more varied still.
The third change is only necessary if the sauce is still too fluid towards the end of the cook. At this stage, mix a flat teaspoon of cornflour with cold water and stir into the sauce. Cook for another 10 mins or so to make sure the cornflour has done its thickening job. This very slight thickening just slows the speed at which the sauce flows. This seems to enhance the taste of the sauce, probably as it “hangs around” in the moths a little longer!
So what is next ……………..
……………… just remove the thyme sprigs from the cook………………and you are ready to go!!
Vegetable Bourguignon - revisited
The big tastes you would expect from a Bourguignon - but plant based
Ingredients
- 4-5 banana shallots - or 12-14 small round shallots
- 4 cloves of garlic
- Olive oil
- 500g of carrots
- 500 g celeriac
- Some turnip or swede
- 250g mushrooms (button or chestnut)
- Any other mushrooms such as shiitake or Oyster
- Large handful of dried mushrooms (ideally with at least some porcini)
- 2 sticks of celery
- 750ml Mushroom or vegetable stock
- 2-3 tbsp tomato puree
- 1/3 bottle red wine (Pinot Noir ideal)
- 1-2 tbsp Tamari
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
- Salt & pepper to season
- 1 flat tsp cornflower if necessary
Directions
- Step 1 Light the BGE and bring to a temperature of 180C whilst preparing the vegetables
- Step 2 If using banana shallots peel and cut lengthways into quarters. If using round shallots peel and leave whole. Finely chop the garlic. Peel and cut the carrots, celeriac and turnip into chunks. Dice the celery.
- Step 3 Take the dried mushrooms just covered with cold water and leave for 5-10 mins and then pour away and recover the mushrooms with fresh water. Rehydrate for around 1-3 hours.
- Step 4 Prepare the button or chestnut mushrooms. If they are small keep them whole. If large, cut into halves or quarters. Prepare any other mushrooms you have in a similar way.
- Step 5 When the Egg is up to temperature heat a sauté pan and dry fry the fresh mushrooms until they take on a little colour. Add some oil and continue to sauté conventionally. Set aside to add to the casserole near the end of the cook. Squeeze the water from the rehydrated dried mushrooms (reserving the water). Add to the sauté pan and cook until they too take on some colour. Set these mushrooms to one side.
- Step 6 Add the rest of the vegetables to the pan with some more oil and cook until they start to colour. Season with salt and pepper.
- Step 7 Add the platesetter and move to indirect cooking. Swap the sauté pan for the Dutch Oven and add the partially cooked vegetable and the tomato puree. Toss the vegetables until coated in the tomato paste and cook for another 5 minutes or so.
- Step 8 Reintroduce just the rehydrated mushrooms and add the red wine. Cook for 5 minutes to drive off the alcohol then add the stock, the reserved mushroom liquor, Tamari and the thyme. Test the seasoning, stir and then to leave for at least an hour or more cooking indirectly on the BGE.
- Step 9 Add the fresh sautéed mushrooms around 20 minutes before the end of tithe cook. Cook for long enough for the vegetables to soften but to still have texture and enough character to bite through when serving. If necessary thicken the sauce with one flat teaspoon of cornflour suspended in a little cold water and continue to cook for 10 mins.
- Step 10 Serve with spiced red cabbage, baked pumpkin, a baked potato, rice, mashed potato or couscous.
