Name: Creamy Mushroom Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 16 ounces small mushrooms of choice, cleaned and stems removed; 2 shallots, minced (cut smaller than diced); 4 cloves garlic, minced (fresh is best); 1/4 cup dry white white ( I used a mini bottle of Chardonnay); 2 cups vegetable broth (divided); 2 Tablespoons tomato paste; 1/4 cup raw cashews; 1/2 cup vegetable broth; 2 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast; 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard; 2 Tablespoons Parsley, chopped; 2 Tablespoons Thyme, chopped

Whenever I cook, I prefer savoy foods full of flavor. In fact, my favorite foods are creamy, salty, and filling rather than sweet. For me, savory is satisfying, so I made a mouth-watering creamy mushroom recipe. Although my family loves the food I cook, it isn’t often everyone is fighting for the last creamy mushroom in the bowl. And, last night, my family literally bartered for the last creamy mushroom. I guess I should be flattered, or maybe I should have made more mushrooms?

Mushrooms—which aren’t a veggie or a fruit, but a type of fungus—have a uniquely savory flavor known as umami, and a dense, meaty texture when cooked. For that reason, mushrooms make the perfect vegan meal. Not only are mushrooms hearty, but they also absorb flavors and adapt well to many ways of cooking.

For this particular creamy mushroom recipe, the roasted the mushrooms in the oven, but I made the sauce separately, poured it over the mushrooms, allowing the flavors to melt together while roasting in the oven.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF EATING MUSHROOMS?

According to Joel Fuhrman, MD in his article “Mighty Mushrooms: Boost Immune Function and Brain Health and Guard Against Cancer,” claims mushrooms are one of the best sources of healing properties:

Strengthen the Immune System
Breast cancer prevention effects.
Protect the brain from oxidative stress
And, mushrooms should only be eaten cooked. Several raw culinary mushrooms contain small amounts of a potentially carcinogenic substance called agaritine, and cooking mushrooms significantly reduces agaritine content

With that said, I try to eat mushrooms often and add them to a ton of recipes.

WHAT’S IN THE CREAMY MUSHROOM SAUCE?

As I said before, I’m a savory, sauce lover. In order to make a healthy, savory sauce, all you need is the right combination of ingredients. Shallot and onions, for instance, work perfectly together to create a savory sauce. Then, the rest just comes together in one pan.

Shallots
Garlic (fresh is best)
Dry White Wine
Raw Cashews
Dijon Mustard
Nutritional Yeast
Vegetable Broth
Tomato Paste

Another helpful hint is to buy mini bottles of white wine, so you don’t have to open a whole bottle of wine to cook with. As a result, you won’t be forced to drink the bottle (haha).

HOW TO MAKE SAVORY CREAMY MUSHROOM RECIPE

First, I used my Cuisinart Mini Chopper to mince the shallots and garlic. Even though you can dice the shallots and garlic, I prefer them smaller, to avoid large chunks of either in the sauce.

Once minced, I place the shallots and onions in a skillet and saute until the shallots are translucent and begin in brown in the pan. Then, I add the white wine, which immediately causes the shallots and garlic to carmelize. Next, I add a little vegetable broth and reduce the heat to low, and allow the vegetable broth to dissipate.

In the meantime, combine the raw cashews, vegetable broth, dijon mustard, and nutritional yeast, and blend using a high-speed blender until creamy.

Then, you add the cashew cream and whisk and add additional vegetable broth and tomato paste. In the end, the sauce will thicken as the ingredients are whisked together.

CLEANING AND PREPARING THE MUSHROOMS

Despite the belief that the best way to clean mushrooms is to not clean them at all, I disagree. Sometimes, simply brushing the dirt off mushrooms, is not enough! Often, I buy organic mushrooms at the farmers’ market and the mushrooms seem dirtier than the ones at the grocery store. Instead, I suggest giving the mushrooms a shower NOT A BATH! In other words, don’t soak the mushrooms in water; use a small amount of water to remove excess dirt.

Because I want the sauce to roast inside the mushrooms, once I remove the stems, I place them opening side up in the pan. This way, the sauce goes into the mushroom holes and surrounds the mushrooms with sauce.

Mushrooms, however, are quite sturdy, so the creamy mushroom recipe can be prepped ahead of time and placed in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook. Since I like to food prep on Sundays, I meal prepped my creamy mushroom recipe on Sunday and didn’t cook them until Monday night for dinner.

So, the next time you are looking for a scrumptious, savory dish, try my creamy mushroom recipe. You won’t be disappointed.

HERE ARE SOME GREAT WAYS TO ADD MUSHROOMS TO YOUR MEALS

6 SERVINGS