Mushroom Stroganoff

I gave this recipe from the NYT a try today (with some variations) and it turned out great. It fed three slightly hangry people on a rainy December day.

NYT Cooking: Mushroom Stroganoff

• Ingredients:
• 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, finely diced
• Salt
• 1½pounds mixed mushrooms (I used cremini), stemmed and sliced into ¼-inch pieces
• 1 frozen cube of crushed garlic
• ½cup red wine (recipe asked for white, we only had red, and I think it works better)
• 1cup vegetable stock
• 2tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (recipe asked for soy sauce, but this is what we had)
• 1½teaspoons Dijon mustard
• ½cup sour cream
• Black pepper
• Handful of chopped chives, for serving (recipe asked for parsley)
• served with wide egg noodles 
• Step 1

  Place a large (12-inch) skillet on medium-high heat. Add olive oil and onion, season with salt, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until softened. Add the mushrooms and garlic, and stir to combine. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, leaving it undisturbed for 2 to 3 minutes at a time before stirring, to allow the mushrooms to caramelize.

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• Step 2

  Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom, then cook for about 1 minute. Add the vegetable stock and W. sauce, and cook for 5 to 7 minutes until the liquid has reduced and is slightly thickened.

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• Step 3

  Take the pan off the heat, and stir in the mustard and crème fraîche. Taste, and season with salt and black pepper. Scatter with chives and serve with wide egg noodles.

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  9/10. Double the sauce next time.

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NYT Cooking: Crispy Halloumi with Tomatoes and Beans

 

See the recipe here. 

• Olive oil, as needed
• 1pound cherry or grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1tablespoon finely chopped parsley, plus more for serving  
• 1 teaspoon honey, plus more for serving
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans
• 1(8-ounce) block halloumi, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices (available at Trader Joe's)

1. Step 1

   Set broiler to high heat, with a rack positioned in the upper third of the oven, 3 to 4 inches from the heat source.

2. Step 2

   In a large, ovenproof pan (I used a Le Creuset pot) over medium heat, combine 2 tablespoons olive oil with the tomatoes, garlic, parsley (which I left out), honey and oregano. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes soften and release their juices, about 10 minutes.

3. Step 3

4. Stir in the beans and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Turn off the heat.

5. 

6. Step 4

   Arrange the halloumi slices on top of the tomato-bean mixture in the pan. Transfer the pan to the oven. Broil until the halloumi is golden and crispy on top, about 5 minutes, depending on the oven’s broiler strength. (Broiling is essential. Without it, the hallomi will just be brick-like.)

7. 

8. I served this on top of left-over white rice. Quick, sort-of-healthy May dinner.

9. 8/10

10. 
    

One-pot pasta with mushrooms and leeks

Another NYT recipe, another one-pot recipe

Time saver: I saw that Trader Joe's has now sells peeled garlic cloves, so I got those.

The lemon juice did what it was supposed to do (deglaze the pan, or rather Dutch oven), but it also added a sour note I could have done without.

4 cups of liquid was just enough to cook the pasta. 

Here's the finished dish, it looked pretty, and the ricotta made it creamy and less sour.

Alas, for once, this was a recipe that looked better than it tasted. Perhaps it was the broth I used, perhaps it was the lemon juice, but I'm not sure I tasted 'umami,' rather, it tasted a little sour (but the ricotta, once mixed with the pasta, balanced it out nicely). 

7/10