Vegetarian Mushroom Bourguignon

Vegetarian Mushroom Bourguignon

It is often said that mushrooms are meat to vegetarians, and after eating this mushroom bourguignon, I think you just might be convinced that vegetarians do just fine. Tender chunks of plump portobellos and chewy dried lobster mushrooms are simmered into a thick sauce highlighted by some robust red wine and served over a bed of steaming egg noddles. This filling dinner is sure to satisfy even the most ravenous mushroom fiends and your carnivorous friends won't miss a thing either.

This was actually my first experience with lobster mushrooms, and it certainly won't be my last. I found myself nibbling on the soaked mushrooms before they even made it into the dish. Not properly a mushroom, these pretty reddish orange fungi are actually a parasitic mushroom that take over certain varieties of mushrooms. If you don't have or can't find dried lobster mushrooms, feel free to substitute your favorite dried mushroom.

Vegetarian Mushroom Bourguignon

Vegetarian Mushroom BourguignonVegetarian Mushroom Bourguignon
Recipe by
Published on February 5, 2009

A rich, sumptuous and robust mushroom dish for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike — great for serving on special occasions

Preparation: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients:
  • 1/2 oz (14 g) dried lobster mushrooms (or other varieties)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 lbs (900 g) portobello mushrooms, cut into 1/4-inch slices
  • 1 small carrot, diced
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 shallot, finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • fresh cracked black pepper
  • 1 cup full-bodied red wine
  • 2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 2/3 cups vegetable stock or reserved mushroom soaking liquid
  • 2 tablespoons unbleached white flour
  • large handful of fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions:
  • Cover the dried mushrooms with hot water and leave to sit for roughly 20 minutes. Drain, reserve the soaking liquid, squeeze any excess liquid from the mushrooms and roughly chop. Set aside.

  • Heat 1 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large pot over high heat. When hot, throw in the portobello mushrooms and cook until they begin to brown, and just before they begin to release their juices — roughly 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

  • Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pot and reduce the heat to medium. Throw in the onions, carrots, shallots, thyme and salt and pepper and cook for roughly 10 minutes, or until the onions begin to brown. Stir occasionally. Now add the garlic and cook for another minute or so.

  • Add the wine to the pot, scrap the bottom of the pan, increase the heat to high and cook, stirring, until the wine is reduced by about half. Stir in the tomato paste, add the portobello mushrooms, vegetable stock (or 1 2/3 cup of the reserved mushroom soaking liquid), bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium/low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender.

  • While the mushrooms are cooking, combine the flour with the remaining tablespoon of butter with a fork. When the mushrooms are tender, add the flour and butter mixture to the pot, along with the soaked dried mushrooms and cook for another few minutes, or until the desired thickness is achieved.

  • Scoop over pasta or egg noodles and garnish with parsley or chives. Serve with a generous glass of red wine.

Makes 4 servings

Vegetarian Mushroom Bourguignon

Other delightful mushroom dishes you will want to try:
Ricotta Dumplings Smothered in Mushroom Sauce
Best-Ever Mushroom Sauce
Portobello Mushrooms Stuffed with Quinoa
Penne with Indian-Style Tomato Sauce and Mushrooms

11 comments:

Johanna GGG said...

Love the sound of this - have never heard of lobster mushrooms before but I wonder what it is about mushrooms that they are named after fishy food - lobster, oyster, gills etc!

Anonymous said...

Oh, Lisa, this sounds wonderful! I've never heard of lobster mushrooms, either, but must go seek them out, now.

Meeta K. Wolff said...

this is looking really good. it's perfect for a lovely dinner!

vanillasugarblog said...

I saw that too over at smitten, and was so gun ho to make it. I can't wait to try it. Yours came out fabulous!

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

This looks lovely and rich and an 'I would be going back for a second portion! kind of a dish!

test it comm said...

Mushroom bourguignon sounds great!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Wow! That's it!

Dazy said...

This is new one for me! Looks really yummy too..gearing up with recipes for the cold winter days hopefully ahead!

Matt @ FaveDiets said...

Oh man, this looks unbelievably good! I will definitely have to remember this recipe for later. Thanks for linking this up to my hop.

Carol @ There's Always Thyme to Cook said...

Looks fantastic. I love mushrooms!

Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche said...

This looks wonderful - my mum makes a great beef bourguingnon for the rest of the family - next time I can have one of my own!