In this recipe, mushrooms are simmered with onions, wine, and carrots, making for a rich, French-style mushroom stew. Serve it with egg noodles, polenta, or mashed potatoes.
Prep Time:
30 mins
Cook Time:
1 hr 10 mins
Total Time:
Total Time:
Servings:
5
Ingredients
16 ounces button mushrooms, chopped
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, chopped
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, chopped
8 ounces oyster mushrooms, chopped
2 cups roughly chopped onions
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, or as needed, divided
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 large leek, white and light green parts only, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups dry red wine
1 ½ cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon tamari, or to taste
3 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
2 bay leaves, or more to taste
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
Directions
Step 1
Combine mushrooms and onions in a large bowl; toss gently to mix.
Step 2
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a very large pot over medium-high heat. Add mushroom-onion mixture, in batches, to cover bottom of pot in a single layer; cook, without stirring too much, until begins to brown and caramelize on one side, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir and cook until other side is browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl using a slotted spoon. Add 2 tablespoons oil to the pot; repeat with another batch mushroom-onion mixture. Repeat until all mushroom-onion mixture is cooked.
Step 3
Season mushroom-onion mixture with salt and black pepper; set aside.
Step 4
Reduce heat to medium-low; add 1 tablespoon oil to the same pot. Add carrots and leek; cook until leek turns light golden and starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste; cook 1 minute. Add flour; cook and stir 1 minute more.
Step 5
Stir in wine, vegetable broth, tamari, thyme, bay leaves, and cayenne pepper while scraping the browned bits of food off the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Carefully add mushroom-onion mixture; bring to a simmer.
Step 6
Reduce heat to low; simmer, partly covered, until carrots and onions are tender and sauce has thickened, 30 to 40 minutes.
Cook's Notes:
You can use butter instead of olive oil and ½ teaspoon dried thyme instead of fresh.
The more variety of mushrooms you use, the better, as each brings unique flavor characteristics. If you have the time (and patience), really brown the mushrooms, but don’t burn them; caramelization, as always, adds a lot of depth to a dish.
If you are a pescatarian, you can substitute oyster sauce for tamari. It really rounds out the soup, giving it more depth of flavor.