Mushroom Stroganoff

I've been making this for years, but last night's was the best tasting so far.
I owe this in part to the half bottle of brandy I added whilst trying to take flambé pictures ;)

Continuing with the Vegan MoBo theme and in an attempt to prove that I eat food in between drinks:

Ingredients (Serves 2):

• 2 handfuls Fresh Mushrooms
• 1 handful Dried Mushrooms
• 1 Onion
• 1 clove Garlic
• Smoked Tofu
• 100ml Brandy
• 1 pint Mushroom Stock
• Fresh Soya Cream

Slice fresh mushrooms and fry in a little oil with cubed tofu, minced garlic and diced onion. You can use any type of mushroom you want - a combination can be good. Either red or white onion is fine. I use Taifun Smoked Tofu with Almonds and Sesame Seeds - it's much nicer than unflavoured stuff and is firm enough to fry with.

Make up the stock and reconstitute dried mushrooms in it. Again you can use any - last night I used shiitake and porcini. Once they've softened up; remove from the stock and add to the pan.

Cook until onion is soft and the mushroom has released excess moisture. When the pan is hot and reasonably dry, add the brandy and light (standing back so you don't loose your eyebrows in the process). If you add it when the pan isn't hot enough or when the mushrooms are still releasing moisture then you'll have difficulty lighting.

You can add as much brandy as you like, but 100ml should be enough. It also works with sherry and I guess other booze too (but probably not kahlua).

Pour in the stock, bring to the boil and allow to simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed / boiled off. Add cream to taste, stir through and heat.

Season with salt/pepper and serve with tagliatelle or linguine. Waitrose in the UK sell fresh varieties of each.

Tomorrow I'll return to booze only, I promise.

Porcini Mushroom Risotto

Risotto; that slimy sludgy rice pudding stuff served up as the vegan option by omni chefs everywhere. I've had some truly bad ones in restaurants over the years, including one recently where the waiter assured me would be the best I've ever tasted. He lied (or thought I must be very uncultured, one of the two).

The problem is that other than using good quality ingredients you also need to stand and stir it for 30 minutes, which chefs are unlikely to have time to do. Some recipes lend themselves to being made in a restaurant environment (particularly those that require a lot of prep but not much cooking), but risotto is not one of them. Therefore; to be fully appreciated it's something that you should make yourself.

Porcinis (or ceps as they're also known) really boost and improve the mushroomy flavour, but any dried mixed wild mushrooms can be used. Equally, substituting some of the white mushrooms for chestnut or portabello can help develop the flavour.

Ingredients (for 2 people):

• 250g Arborio Rice
• 250g White Mushrooms
• 15g Dried Porcini Mushrooms
• Clove of Garlic
• 1 Onion
• 200ml Dry White Wine
• 1 Litre Vegetable Stock

Make up a litre of vegetable stock and place 15g dried porcini mushrooms in it for several minutes. Stir and remove the mushrooms, then place in a pan over a low heat such that it remains at a gentle simmer. Thinly slice 250g white mushrooms, dice an onion and mince a clove of garlic.

Place in a large saucepan with the porcini mushrooms and a couple of glugs of sunflower oil. Cook for 10 minutes over a medium heat such that the onion turns translucent but doesn't start to burn. Add the rice and coat fully with the oil, then pour in the wine.

It should start to boil immediately. Set a timer for 30 minutes and stir the mixture until the wine is absorbed. Continue to stir, adding the stock a ladle-full at a time, ensuring each is absorbed before the next added. By the end of the 30 minutes you should have run out of stock and the rice be cooked.

Season to taste and serve immediately with wild rocket.