BeetEater.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
In honor of the approach of Yuri’s Night, I thought I’d revisit and vegan-ize a couple of Russian and Russian-American dishes. Mushroom stroganoff is a classic comfort food with its roots in Russia. It’s a meat-free spin on beef stroganoff, which was named for Russian diplomat and minister of the interior, Alexander Stroganov.
My mushroom stroganoff recipe is “sneaky” because this rich, creamy comfort food is actually made from veggies in disguise! It’s filling, it’s delicious, it’s packed with protein, and each serving is only about 400 calories. The sauce is low in fat, completely free of dairy and so freaking healthy. It’s the perfect sauce to sneak over noodles if you have picky kids (or adults!) in your family who don’t want to eat their veggies. Everyone could use some extra fiber in their diet, even if that fiber is disguised as a creamy, decadent cheat food!
Normally, beef stroganoff consists of sautéed beef served in a sauce made from sour cream and served over rice or egg noodles. In my version, sautéed mushrooms and onions are tossed with a sauce made from walnuts and zucchinis. I used cremini and oyster mushrooms, but it’s fine to use whatever mushrooms you have on-hand.
You will also need a good, vegan-friendly noodle with high sauce retention for this dish. You can use any noodle you like best here, but I was really happy with Meuller’s ruffles pasta. Some Meuller’s pasta varieties are vegan, but not all of them. Be sure to read the ingredients if you want to try one of their other varieties.
Stay tuned for another Russian classic. Mr. T will share his take on traditional Borscht, which is an absolute dream for a BeetEater like me!
"Sneaky" Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff
Ingredients
- Approx 1 pound of cremini and oyster mushroom feel free to use what you have on-hand
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 2 medium zucchinis peeled and chopped
- 2 medium onions
- 1/2 cup unsweetened plant-based milk
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp vegetable bouillon powder
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- a dash of cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp vegan Worcestershire
- 1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
- A 16-oz box of dried pasta I recommend Mueller's Ruffles
- 1 Tbsp parsley dried or fresh
Instructions
- Wash the mushrooms and separate the stems from the caps. Slice the mushroom caps and set aside.
- In a glass jar or bowl, soak the walnuts and the mushroom stems in boiling water for a minimum of 10 minutes.
- Water fry the zucchinis until they are soft and tender. Add to the blender.
- Water fry the mushrooms along with 1 tsp of the vegan Worcestershire until the water has leached out of them and then reduced. Set aside.
- Dice one of the onions, and roughly chop the other. Add the roughly chopped onion to the blender.
- Water fry the diced onion until tender, about 2-4 minutes. Add the sauteéd onion to the sauteed mushrooms and set aside.
- Add the plant-based milk, walnuts, mushroom stems, onion powder, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, bullion powder, mustard powder, salt, cayenne pepper, remaining 1 tsp of vegan Worcestershire, soy sauce and liquid smoke to the blender, along with the onion and zucchini. Blend on high until very smooth (approximately 3-5 minutes with a high-powered blender).
- Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and prepare the pasta according to package instructions.
- Add the blender mixture to pan and simmer until warm. Taste and adjust seasonings. Fold in the prepared pasta and sautéed mushrooms and onions. Garnish with parsley and serve warm.
The vegan stroganoff was YUM! The more sauce the better.