Strogonoff Vegetariano com Cogumelos

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy 30 cm skillet or sauté pan
• •Wooden spoon or silicone spatula
• •Measuring cups and spoons

Instructions

1. 1

   Dry the mushrooms

   Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp cloth or rinse them very quickly and dry them well. Slice firm mushrooms about 1/2 inch thick and tear oyster mushrooms into pieces with your hands. Dry matters here. Wet mushrooms hit the pan and start boiling before they ever get a chance to brown, and then a gente loses the flavor before dinner has even begun.

2. 2

   Sear in batches

   Heat a wide heavy pan over medium-high heat until a drop of water flicks and disappears fast. Add 1 tablespoon oil, then add half the mushrooms in one loose layer. Leave them alone for 2 minutes, then stir and cook until their water comes out, dries up, and the edges turn deep brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. Salt lightly only after they brown. Pull them to a plate and repeat with the remaining mushrooms and 1 tablespoon oil.

   Don't crowd the pan. Mushrooms do the same sad trick as meat when crowded: they release water, the pan cools, and you stew instead of sear. Brown food tastes like dinner. Grey food tastes like impatience.
3. 3

   Build the refogado

   Drop the heat to medium and add the butter to the same pan. Add the onion with a pinch of the salt and cook, stirring now and then, until it goes soft and see-through, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, just until you smell it. This is the refogado, the base that makes the sauce taste cooked instead of assembled. Burnt garlic is bitter and unforgiving, so don't wander off.

4. 4

   Cook the tomato

   Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan, until it darkens from bright red to brick red. Then add the passata, mustard, water, black pepper, and the remaining salt. The tomato paste needs this little fry so it loses the raw, tinny taste. The mustard gives the molho a small bite, not a mustard flavor shouting from the pan.

5. 5

   Simmer the molho

   Let the sauce bubble gently for 4 to 5 minutes, until it thickens enough that a spoon leaves a clear trail for a second before the sauce closes back in. Scrape up the browned bits from the bottom while it simmers. Those bits are the mushrooms talking back to the sauce. Don't waste them.

6. 6

   Finish with cream

   Lower the heat to medium-low and return the browned mushrooms and any juices to the pan. Stir in the creme de leite and simmer gently for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the sauce turns glossy and coats the mushrooms. Don't boil it hard. Cream can split, and mushrooms that already did their job don't need to be bullied. Taste and adjust the salt.

7. 7

   Serve the plate

   Spoon the strogonoff over hot arroz soltinho and finish with parsley if you're using it. Put couve or another green beside it, and feijão too if that's how your table eats. The sauce should be creamy enough to sit on the rice, not so thin that it runs across the plate. Batata palha can go on top for crunch, but it's a topping, not the dinner.

Chef Tips

• •Fresh mushrooms brown. Canned champignon is the old-school shortcut, and I'll tell you the cost: it won't sear because it's already cooked and wet. If that's what you have, drain it well and add it only at the end.
• •Use a wide pan, not a small pot. Browning needs space. If the mushrooms are piled up like a bus at rush hour, they're going to sweat and sulk.
• •Creme de leite gives the most Brazilian taste. Heavy cream works. For vegan, use unsweetened cashew cream or a neutral oat cream, and use oil instead of butter. Read the carton. Sweet vanilla sauce in strogonoff is how a Tuesday turns against you.
• •Skip powdered soup, seasoning cubes, and packets. They bring salt and a factory's idea of flavor. Onion, garlic, browned mushrooms, tomato, and mustard do the job cleanly.
• •If feijão is joining the plate, soak the beans overnight so they cook evenly and sit easier. Finish them with a real refogado, then mash a ladle of cooked beans into it so the caldo turns creamy instead of watery. Same lesson, different pot.
• •Batata palha belongs to Brazilian strogonoff, yes. Buy a simple one if you're using the bag, or make quick crisp potato sticks when you have the patience. Either way, keep it as crunch on top, not a mountain hiding the food.

Advance Preparation

• •Clean and slice the mushrooms up to 1 day ahead. Keep them dry and covered in the fridge, because extra moisture is the enemy of browning.
• •The sauce keeps up to 3 days in the fridge. Reheat gently over low heat with a splash of water, stirring until glossy again.
• •This is best not frozen once the cream is in. If you want to work ahead, freeze the browned mushrooms and tomato base, then add the cream after reheating.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 460g)