Mushroom Stroganoff

I like mushrooms and I like creamy things, so mushroom stroganoff is a winner. Any mushrooms will do, but the darker, stronger ones are best, and if you have any dried mushrooms in your cupboard you can add those for extra flavour. I served mine with spring onion and pea mash, but it also goes well with jacket potatoes, rice or pasta.


Mushroom Stroganoff

Serves 2

Takes 25 minutes


300g mushrooms

An onion

150ml red wine

150ml stock (or mushroom soaking water if using dried mushrooms)

2 cloves of garlic or one heaped tsp of minced garlic

3 tbsp single cream or soured cream

1 tsp dried thyme

Around 1tbsp paprika

1 tbsp Mushroom Ketchup or Worcestershire-style sauce

1 tsp of cornflour, mixed with a little cold water to form a paste


* Chop the onion finely, slice the mushrooms and heat some oil in a large pan over medium heat. Toss the mushrooms in the paprika until coated.

* Put the onions and garlic into the pan and cook for 5 minutes until softened.

* Add the mushrooms and thyme and cook for a further 5 minutes until starting to reduce.

* Pour in the wine, stock, cornflour and Mushroom Ketchup, bring to the boil whilst stirring, then simmer for a further 5 minutes or until reduced to your liking.

* Stir in the cream last, but do not heat afterwards otherwise it (single cream) will curdle.

Note: If you are using dried mushrooms, follow the packet instructions to rehydrate then add with the rest of the mushrooms.

BBC Good Food - creamy courgette lasagne

I have to include this here, as it was so yummy that everyone should try it. Apologies for the weak picture, my dad has yoinked my camera for a while, and my phone doesn't cope well with our bad lighting. It shows the salad nicely though.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4716/creamy-courgette-lasagne

Don't be fooled by the name, there's no actual cream in it. The creaminess comes from ricotta, which I adore, which is stirred in to the courgette mix before assembling the lasagne.

I added a pint of white sauce because I like saucy pasta which added to the creaminess and also increased the moisture content. It also allowed me to get away with using less cheese than I would normally on the top (the recipe is very skimpy on the cheddar, in my opinion). I also added some basic dried mixed herbs to the courgette mix, as I felt the need for a little extra layer of flavour.

I would also recommend that it serves 6 rather than 4 if you add a couple of pieces of garlic bread and a bit of salad each. I served it as 4 with a salad of baby spinach, 2 beetroots and an orange pepper and I was stuffed 2/3 of the way through. Of course I still ate it all, and because there's a large amount of veggies the stuffed feeling wears off pretty quickly.

I must say that this is one of my favourite dishes. If you're not a fan of fake meat then you can't go wrong with this lasagne, especially if you get a good quality tomato sauce.