Tender mushrooms cooked in a thick, spiced gravy; this cajun mushrooms recipe is perfect served with rice or crusty bread. Cook on the hob or in a slow cooker.
I’m not sure if this is unusual or not for someone who writes recipes, but I am dreadful at following them. Don’t get me wrong, I love reading recipes and can’t get enough of poring over food blogs looking for inspiration and new ideas and generally appreciating the abundance of creativity out there. But when it comes to being in my kitchen, having to follow a recipe can actually feel quite stressful. I guess you could say that it takes the fun out of it; I would much rather read a recipe through for an idea then, once I get started cooking, change it up as and when feels right.
This cajun mushroom dish is different to most of my recipes in that it was directly based on another recipe – this one from Salad in a Jar that I stumbled across on Pinterest. I have to say that I almost prefer coming up with ways to veganise or vegetarianise a meat-based recipe as you can often discover new flavours or ways of cooking something that you might not have encountered in a veggie recipe before. My approach to adapting a recipe like this is to read over several times to get a sense of how the dish was created, then close the book or turn off my screen and get started on my own “inspired-by” creation. For this, I made mushrooms the main focus of the dish, skipped a few ingredients, and upped the garlic and cayenne pepper a little.
The original recipe called for Worcestershire Sauce but I have replaced this with Henderson’s Relish – a sauce that originates from Sheffield and is similarly spicy and fruity – but as this isn’t that widely available you could either use a vegetarian Worcestershire Sauce or sub with soy sauce.
On a different note, as I mentioned in my cheesy vegan leek and potato soup post, I almost always cook in batches to eat through the week or stock up my freezer with. This dish is an exemplary reminder that I should always cook in batches – making only one dinner’s worth of this was a huge mistake because I immediately wished I could eat it again. It won’t be long before this recipe makes its way back into my kitchen again.
Recipe
Ingredients:
600g closed cup mushrooms, cleaned
3tbsp dairy-free margarine
3tbsp flour
4 celery sticks, chopped
8 shallots, peeled and halved
750ml vegetable stock
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf
2tbsp Henderson’s Relish (or vegan Worcestershire Sauce)
1tsp cayenne pepper
Pepper to taste
Method:
1. Melt the dairy-free marg in a non-stick pan over a medium heat. Add the flour and stir well to make a thick roux. Continue stirring until it begins to turn golden brown. Don’t worry at this stage if it sticks to the pan at all.
2. Add celery, onion and garlic, stirring well. Cook for a couple of minutes before slowly adding the stock, a little at a time.
3. Once all of the stock is added, you can either transfer to the slow cooker or continue to cook over the hob. Add all of the remaining ingredients to the pan and mix thoroughly.
4. Cook in the slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours or simmer gently on the hob for around 40 minutes. Serve over rice or with crusty bread.
What is your approach to cooking? Do you follow recipes to the letter or skim and re-imagine them?
