Mushroom & Cashew Nut Stroganoff / Lemon seasoned brown rice / buttered baby carrots

image courtesy of bbc good food

Its been a while since i ate / made a mushroom stroganoff. I do however get the urge once in a while to make and eat one, even if it is to relive some halcyon days from my years in the industry. Theres a number of things i like about it, the tanginess and mellow spices, the earthy mushroom flavour and of course its hearty and homely feel. This recipe in particualrly aims to bring out all of those elements, whilst at the same time creating a delicate balance of them all.

You will need (makes a faily sized batch serves 4-5):


1 Kilo of close cupped mushrooms, sliced
2 Onions, finely diced
2 Cloves of garlic, crushed
75g of cashew nuts
50g of pickled gherkins, diced
2 Red peppers, skinned, seeded and cut into 1 cm strips
125ml of milk, 125ml of double cream mixed
1 Tablespoon of Dijon mustard
Healthy splash of Worcestershire sauce
Seasoning
Paprika

The doing bit:


Sauté off the mushrooms, once soft set aside to drain in a colander

Fry off the onions and garlic till soft; add the peppers and cashew nuts. Cook for a couple of minutes.

Add cream / milk and reduce then season

Once thickened add mustard and the Worcestershire sauce, stir in the mushrooms and gurkins, check the seasoning and serve.

For the rice (4/5 person batch)

350g brown rice
2 lemons, zested and juiced. keep the peels though we will use these as well
Handful fresh coriander chopped.
tsbp butter or margarine

Cooke the rice as normal in water until the rice begins to soften. Strain the rice then add the rice to a large oven tray adding the lemon juice, lemon peel and zest and mix thoroughly. Ad the butter, then vover the tray with greaseproof paper and tinfoil and put into oven at about 200C. Check every five minutes until done. When done remove the lemon peel, and stir in the coriander. Serve.

For the carrots:

allow 5/6 baby carrots per person. Cook in a pan of hot water with 1 tsbp sugar added. When cooked to preference, strain and serve with 3/4 portions of herb butter (optional) or alternatively glaze with ordinary butter or margarine.

Garlic buttered chicken kiev with almond roast potatoes, mushroom fricasse & mangetout

Usually we would serve kiev as a late summer dish with roated tomatoes saute potatoes etc. But this late autumn dish incorporates a more earthy and hearty approach. The garlic providing a wondeful savoury tone, sweetness from the almond roasted poatoes, a creamy texture and earthy flavour from the mushroom fricasse, and definite crunch and bite from the mangetout.

Its quite filling, but will leave you wonderfully satisfied and with room for a dessert if you wish.

I cooked this a couple of weeks ago and it went down a storm :)

Ingredients

For the kiev

(makes 1)

tsp garlic butter
1 chicken fillet with small underside fillet still attached
soft white breadcrumbs
flour and beaten egg (for breading)
mixed herbs & salt & pepper

For the roast potatoes (serves 4)

4 large baking poatoes peeled and chopped into same sizes (for roasting)
flour & beaten egg (use above from chicken if need be)
ground or flaked almonds (ground are better but its up to you)
olive oil & salt & pepper

for the mushroom fricasse (serves 4)

150g Large Onion, finely chopped
150g of Wild Mushrooms, trimmed
150g of Button Mushrooms
100ml of White Wine
125ml of Double Cream
125ml of Dry Sherry Reduced by 2/3
10g of Chopped Tarragon
Parmesan shavings to taste

Preparation

Kiev:

add salt & pepper ans herbs to breadcrumbs and set aside.

Trim off the underside fillet from the breast and flatten out with a tenderiser or rolling pin. wrap the garlic butter in the small flattened piece. cut a pocket in the underside of the breast and tuck in the parcel. Coat breast in flour, then egg then seasoned breadcrumbs. Reapeat as necessary for other breasts then lightly oil a frying pan and sear both sides of kiev until coloured. Place on baking tray then add to preheated oven at 200C until cooked.

Potatoes:

Place the potatoes in a pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then simmer until potatoes begin to soften. Remove from heat, strain and allow to cool slightly.Preheat oven to 200C then coat with oil,flour then egg, then the ground almonds and set in an oiled oven tray for roasting. lPace in oven and turn regularly for even cooking.

Fricasse:

Sauté off the onion with the mushrooms till tender, add the wine and cream and reduce till thick add the sherry and reduce till a thick coating consistency. Finish with tarragon and parmesan shavings.

Mangetout:

Drop into salted boiling water 2 mins before serving.

Assemble in the following order: fricasse, potatoes on the oustide spaced evenly, mangetout on fricasse, kiev on top.

Serve & devour.