A few years ago I developed an egg allergy. It's not horribly severe, I can still eat cookies or a piece of cake (and a slice of quiche won't kill me), but if I tried to chow down on some breakfast eggs, it would not be a pretty sight. This makes brunch a really sad meal. I look mournfully across the table at all the gooey benedicts, shakshukas, and huevos rancheros, while I drown my tears in bottomless coffee and order another bloody mary. WOE IS ME.
But not all is lost because I can still eat mushrooms, butter, toast, and a large dollop of crème fraîche with my coffee and feel like I just conquered the morning. This meal is rich, creamy, warm, and comforting, so great for cool winter mornings. Really, it's perfect at any time of day or night because it's so fast and simple but still incredibly satisfying.
Sometimes it's the simple things that taste the best...
If I were able to digest eggs, I might scramble some up to go with this? And when I have winter greens lying around, I'll sometimes sauté them up with the mushrooms and add some garlic.
Stuff
handful of mushrooms
slice of sourdough
couple sprigs of thyme
couple knobs of butter
crème fraîche
salt & pepper
Steps
Slice the mushrooms. Heat a knob of butter in a frying pan on a medium high heat. Sauté the mushrooms in the butter, add thyme leaves, salt & pepper. Stir constantly until cooked through (approx. 5 mins).
Toast and butter the sourdough and top with the sautéed mushrooms and a big dollop of crème fraîche. Garnish with a few thyme leaves and eat immediately.
I have a cold (boo), but that means it's definitely soup season (yay)! I love mushroom soup but I sometimes find it to be a bit meh... mushrooms have that great unami taste but they don't always hold up that well in soup. I find the soup often needs something to bulk it up. Something to give it that extra creamy warmness, you know, the thing that makes us hold steaming soup bowls between our hands on crisp fall days, so excited for the bowl of delicious warmth we're about to devour.
So there I was, standing over a bowl of mushroom soup, thinking to myself 'what can I add to this?' And it struck me that cashews would be perfect. They're creamy, nutty, and not too strong. I threw in a handful of cashews and I've never looked back.
I now soak the cashews in water overnight (or for a couple of hours in advance) and use the water they're soaked in for the broth. If I forget to do this (which happens all the time), I still add them, the soup just isn't quite as creamy. This recipe is vegan but if you're not, you can use butter to sauté the shallot and garlic and I'd highly recommend adding a big dollop of crème fraîche to your bowl of soup.
Stuff
1 packet of mushrooms
handful of cashews (soaked overnight in water)
1 shallot
2 garlic cloves
few sprigs of thyme
handful of parsley
2 quarts vegetable stock
a big splash of sherry
olive oil
salt & pepper
Steps
Dice the shallot and the garlic. Heat olive oil in a pot on a medium heat. Sauté the shallot and garlic until tender.
Roughly chop the mushrooms and the thyme. Add to the pot, season everything with salt and pepper, and stir. Cook for 5 - 6 minutes or until the mushrooms begin to soften.
Add sherry and turn up the heat. Let the alcohol burn off then add the cashews with the water they were soaked in and the vegetable stock. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
Simmer for 20 - 30 minutes then blend with an immersion blender until smooth and creamy. Taste and check for seasoning. Roughly chop the parsley.
Serve with a dash of olive oil and sprinkling of parsley.
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