: Stock—–
1/2 c dried vegetable soup mix
3 c slightly aged chopped white
: mushrooms
3 c water
: Stew—–
1/2 rutabaga — halved then
: thinly s
1 c white mushrooms — slightly
: aged, halve
6 sm shitake — coarsely
: chopped
1 TB olive oil
: salt and pepper to taste
5 garlic cloves — finely
: chopped
1/2 c dry sherry
1 md yellow onion — cut into
: lg piece
1 md carrot — peeled, 1/2″
: slices
2 md russet potatos — in 1/2 of
1/2 ” slice
1 md fennel bulb — quartered,
: in 1/2″ s
2 TB fresh thyme — chopped or 2
: ts dri
2 TB fresh marjoram — chopped
: or 2 tsp dri
2 TB fresh parsley — chopped or
2 ts dri
This began last night as an effort to make the Winter Vegetable Pie
recipe in the _Fields of Greens_ cookbook just acquired (and thanks
to those who sent advice on the book last month). As usual, however,
we varied a great deal, so the result is greatly different from the
book’s–but was wonderful. We realized that the recipe started with
“Mushroom stock,” which would take 3 hours to make. Since it was
already 7 in the evening, that was out. The celery root we thought
was in the vegetable bin was a rutabaga; we had six shitake to use
up. So we improvised: Stock: Gently simmer, until reduced to about 2
cups liquid.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet; add the
mushrooms, pinch of salt, 2 or 3 grinds of pepper. Sear the mushrooms
over high heat until golden. Add half the garlic and deglaze the pan
with half the sherry. When the pan is almost dry, transfer the
mushrooms to a bowl. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in
stew pot and add the onion, pinch of salt, 2 grinds of pepper; saute
until onion is transparent. Add the remaining garlic, rutabaga,
carrot, potatos, and fennel, saute for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms,
herbs, and the reduced stock. Cover and simmer until vegetables are
soft and flavors melded, about 30 minutes over medium/medium low
heat. Serve over grain, pasta, or polenta (we used a mixed spiral
spinach pasta and basmati rice left over from previous meals), with
crusty bread, bread sticks, or pretzels. The _Fields of Greens_ book
takes its mixture, pours it into a 9 inch round baking dish, then
covers it with a white pastry cover, with an egg wash on it (there
goes the vegan listing!), then bakes in 375 degree oven for 40
minutes. Our variation worked well; we ate at about 8:45 (which is
fairly normal for us), a rich and warming stew with the temperature
outside at -5, wind chill -37. We’ll try some different root
vegetables next time, and perhaps add tofu slices as well.
Yields
1 Servings