I’m back! My winter holiday was filled with eating – from the oh so traditional Jewish Chinese feast on Christmas to French and Israeli home-cooking with my mom. Needless to say, I’m stuffed and am ready to dive back into clean eating and responsible recipes. And also smaller pants.
I owe the inspiration for this one to New Year’s Eve, believe it or not. My brother’s wife made vegetarian mushroom bourguignon (a la Smitten Kitchen) for me at our family’s NYE dinner and it reminded me that mushrooms are king. Savory. Meaty. Cozy. The best!
Upon returning to the city I started brainstorming a way to translate the NYE mushroom dish into a weekday lunch – while also subtracting the butter and egg noodles that no doubt made the meal so drool-worthy. On my hunt for the original mushroom recipe I stumbled upon Smitten Kitchen’s Baked Potato and Mushroom Ragù. I subtracted some ingredients and added a few of my own and what resulted was a tasty vegan, gluten free, Paleo and Whole30 friendly meal.
Also, worth mentioning that I decided to garnish these taters with chives. Have you ever cut a bunch of chives using kitchen scissors? It is INCREDIBLE. Like. The crunch is very satisfying. I’m thinking in another life I was a hair stylist. I digress.
This made four servings.
Ingredients:
4 sweet potatoes, washed
14 oz of mushrooms, cleaned (I used a 10 oz box of sliced white and a 4 oz box of shitake, stems removed)
4 medium carrots, peeled, stem chopped off
2 shallots
1/2 cup of vegetable broth
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 pinch of coconut flour (optional)
Olive oil
Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place washed potatoes on a baking sheet and use a fork to pierce each potato about 8 different times. Bake in the oven for one hour, then remove to let cool.
Chop the carrots into circles or half-circles, and roughly chop or dice up the shallots. If your mushrooms are not pre-sliced, slice them evenly. I sliced my shitakes into thin strips.
Heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a large saute pan, preferably with a bit of depth, and toss in your shallots over medium heat. Saute until they begin to turn glassy, then toss in the carrots and saute for 10-12 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a separate saute pan, heat a bit of oil and saute your mushrooms over medium heat until softened. If the pan is a bit watery, pour of some of the juice or simmer on low until it evaporates.
Add your mushrooms to the carrot and shallot saute, then pour in the vegetable broth and tomato paste and stir until evenly incorporated.
Simmer on low for 10 minutes, then add in a pinch or coconut flour. This will help the broth thicken a bit so it’s not as watery. Stir until the flour is absorbed and continue simmering for another 2-3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
Slice your warmed sweet potato lengthwise and use a fork to roughly mash each half, then spoon over your hot mushroom stew. Top with option Parmesan or goat cheese – or keep it dairy free/vegan with chives – and enjoy!
