Wild Mushroom Stroganoff

Its mushroom season! If you've taken a walk in a local park or woods recently you will probably have ambled right by some sprouting fungus. Wet and cooler weather make it the perfect time for mushrooms to grow. Obviously I'm not suggesting you pick the mushrooms from your local park, I love a bit of foraging but I'm in no way an expert and would have no idea where to begin with mushrooms. But at this time of year you can often find British grown wild, or native mushrooms in supermarkets. If you want to make this recipe a bit cheaper swap out wild mushrooms, for your standard brown mushrooms.

Last week I headed to Borough market, and Turnips. My favourite stall in Borough market, mostly for there awesome vegetable displays. There mushroom display is a thing of wonder, and something I have marvelled over many times. But this time I decided to go ahead and by myself some mushrooms. Me and my dad picked out a mushroom box, which contained assorted wild mushrooms, and some sprigs of rosemary and thyme. It all comes in this very cute box, which I plan to upcycle by using as a planter. It's fairly small so if you have any ideas for indoor plants that would grow well in a small container let me know!

These wild mushrooms really deserve to be the star of the show, so I decided to make a mushroom stroganoff. Stroganoff is a fairly simple creamy, slightly sour sauce that compliments the earthy flavours of the mushrooms really well. This is the perfect Autumn warmer recipe!

It's my birthday on Saturday, and me and Jamie are off to Devon for the weekend. I'm going to be taking a break from social media, and the internet. But I'm really excited to get back and get cracking with Christmas content. It's crept up on me so fast this year. Anyway see you when I'm another year old, and until then enjoy your stroganoff.

Makes 2 portions

Ingredients

150g shallots (or white onion)

2 cloves of garlic

180g wild mushrooms (or brown closed cup mushrooms)

500ml vegetable stock

200ml vegan cream fraiche (I used oatly)

2 tablespoons vegan butter

Juice of 1/4 of a lemon

1/3 cup of water

2 heaped teaspoons of plain flour (gluten free if needed)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce/ tamiri

A sprig of rosemary

A sprig of thyme

pepper (to taste)

250g farfalle pasta/ gluten free pasta

To serve

Parsley

Method

1) In a large pan heat the vegan butter, until melted. Add the shallots and garlic and fry untill soft, about 5 minutes. Then add the mushrooms, thyme and rosemary and cook until the mushrooms release their juices and become soft, depending on the size of mushrooms used this can vary but about 7 minutes.

2) Stir in the vegetable broth, soy sauce or tamari, Dijon mustard and tomato paste and stir to combine. Add black pepper to taste. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer until the liquid has reduced by a third, about 15 minutes. Mix in the Vegan Sour Cream.

3) In a cup mix together the flour and water until it has formed a thick smooth paste. Add the paste to the Stroganoff sauce, stirring as you do, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer.

4) In a separate place boiling water and cook the pasta, according to packet instructions.

5)Once the pasta is cooked, serve with the mushroom strognoff, and finish off with a garnish of parsley.