Tag: mushroom

Mushroom and Eggplant Couscous

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Mushroom and Eggplant Couscous
Mushroom and Eggplant Couscous, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Sometimes you need to throw together couple of ingredients you have on hand and have the meal ready in a blink of an eye. This recipe is your one way ticket to a no fuss meal that is filling and satisfying. When it comes to easy and hands-off cooking nothing comes even remotely close to couscous. I’ve been making couscous for years and all you need to remember is to 1:2 ratio – 1 cup couscous plus 2 cups of boiling water – and to keep your lid on and your hand off.

Basically, once you pour your boiling water over the couscous and give it one gentle stir, all you need to do is put the lid on and let the couscous sit for 15-30 minutes. For best results use a fork to fluff the couscous up and that’s it – a delicious base for your meal is done!

The rest is very straightforward. The eggplant needs to be chopped into good size, 1 x 1 in (2.5 x 2.5 cm), cubes and mushrooms need to be quartered. The cooking begins with browning onions, then adding eggplant and letting it brown for a bit, adding mushrooms and sprinkling some corn starch to bind everything together, especially mushrooms that tend to release a lot of liquid. Another important thing to do is deglaze the pot as a lot of great caramelized flavor will be stuck to the bottom of your pan. Here, just a little bit of vegetable stock will help.

Mushroom and Eggplant Stew
Mushroom and Eggplant Stew, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow

Mushroom and Eggplant Couscous

What you’ll need:

2 medium eggplants, cubed

2 10 oz. (284g) white button mushrooms, quartered

1 yellow onion, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

2 tablespoons garlic, crushed

6 scallions, diced

3 tablespoons corn starch

1/2 cup vegetable stock

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon dry thyme

Cooking spray

What you’ll do:

  1. Prepare couscous according to the box instructions, usually by mixing 1 cup of couscous with 2 cups of boiling water, putting the lid on the container and letting couscous soak for 15 to 30 minutes.
  2. Spray the bottom and the sides of a large Dutch oven or another heavy pot with a good lid with cooking spray. Turn the heat to medium high, add diced onions and scallions and brown for 5-6 minutes.
  3. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute or so, letting the garlic release its aroma.
  4. Add eggplant and let it brown which will take anywhere between 5 and 10 minutes, depending on the size of your pot.
  5. Lower heat to medium, and add mushrooms, corn starch and thyme. Sauté for 5-8 minutes. You want your mushrooms to be soft.
  6. Use the vegetable stock to deglaze the bottom of your pot and let everything cook for 5-10 minutes more, covered.
  7. Fluff the couscous with a fork, then plate the couscous and spread the mushroom and eggplant stew on top. Sprinkle with fresh flat leaf (Italian) parsley, and enjoy!

    8. Copyright © Eat the Vegan Rainbow, 2017

Mashed Potato Stuffed Mushrooms with Cashew Sour Cream

Posted in AppetizersTagged , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Mashed Potato Stuffed Mushrooms with Cashew Sour Cream
Mashed Potato Stuffed Mushrooms with Cashew Sour Cream, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Fully loaded vegan mushrooms are finally here! Last time I went grocery shopping large white stuffing mushrooms were on sale and they looked so inviting that I had to have them. For most vegetarians and vegans mushrooms are a common ingredient as they add that elusive umami flavor to dishes. I used them fairly often and have featured them in  my Vegan Stuffed Pepper recipe.

This time around it is the mushrooms that are getting stuffed, and the stuffing I decided to go with is yummy, silky smooth and creamy mashed potatoes. Additionally, just to kick it up a notch I made some Cashew Sour Cream by Oh She Glows to add a bit of flair. Finally, sun dried tomatoes on top are for loveliness, color and for a bit of sweetness.

There are really two tricks here. One is to bake the mushroom caps on their own, and the other is to use a blender to purée the potatoes.

To get your mushrooms going I first remove the stems, but I don’t throw them away  as I use them as a part of the stuffing. I place mushroom caps their open ends up on the parchment paper (or foil) covered baking sheet and put them in the oven for about 20-30 minutes. The point is to get the caps soft and to let the mushrooms release excess water. At the end of the baking each mushroom cap should be filled with brown liquid (see below), and I dumped this liquid out. Transfer your mushroom caps into a greased baking dish with tall sides that will help with making sure no stuffing gets out while baking.

Baked Mushrooms, Ready for Stuffing
Baked Mushroom Caps, Ready for Stuffing, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Using a blender to purée the potatoes makes them into a creamy heaven that is perfect for stuffing. I would not recommend using the blender method if your end point is mashed potatoes because what you get is quite smooth, but for topping something like a Vegan Shepherd’s Pie or stuffing these mushrooms this method is perfect.

All in all these Vegan Mashed Potato Stuffed Mushrooms with Cashew Sour Cream are perfect as an interesting appetizer and entertaining, as well as a really great dinner in their own right. The amount of mushrooms I used is huge and it was definitely meant for sharing and enjoying in a large group, so feel free to scale down accordingly!

Vegan Mashed Potato Stuffed Mushrooms with Cashew Sour Cream

What you’ll need (for a 12 servings):

2 24 oz. (680 g) boxes white mushrooms, large

4 medium Russet potatoes

6 scallions

1/4 cup almond milk, plain & unsweetened (or other non-dairy milk)

1 cup of Cashew Sour Cream

1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, julienned

Cooking spray

What you’ll do:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
  2. Clean the mushrooms gently with a piece of paper towel. Separate stems from the caps. Keep the stems for later. Place caps, hole side up, on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the mushroom caps are soft and full of clear, brown liquid.
  3. Take the mushroom caps out the oven, discard the liquid and place them into a deep baking dish well sprayed with the cooking spray. Put aside.
  4. Peel the potatoes, chop them into small cubes and boil until cooked through which can take 15-30 minutes depending on the size of your cubes. Drain the water and let the potatoes cool for 15 minutes. Add almond milk and blend until potatoes are smooth.
  5. Chop scallions, using both the green and white parts, and mushroom stems finely.
  6. Spray a frying pan with cooking spray and sauté scallions and mushroom stems fro 5-10 minutes. Add sautéd scallion and mushroom stem mixture to the potatoes. Mix well.
  7. Spoon the potato mix into mushroom caps and top with a spoonful of cashew sour cream and few slices of sun dried tomatoes. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
  8. Bon appétit!

Copyright © Eat the Vegan Rainbow, 2017