When I was a kid, I was a Julia Child fanatic. I tuned in to The French Chef every Wednesday at 4 pm after school. I watched Julia on our small black and white TV, and took copious notes, knowing that I would valiantly attempt to replicate what she had deftly created on her show for Sunday dinner with my parents.
I clearly remember making Julia’s Beef Bourguignon and adding mushrooms – because mushrooms were an ethnic Cleveland thing, and I usually had access to fairly decent mushrooms.
But NOT like the fantastic mushrooms I have been getting from CazaZilla, a new speciality mushroom purveyor at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market. Bill and Maream are incredibly engaging – and they have some of the most awesome mushrooms I’ve seen at the market in a long time.
Check out their gorgeous Elm Oyster Mushrooms . . .
They were incredibly clean – no mushroom brush needed!
Rather than cut them, I tore many of them into large pieces. Because they were so fresh and lovely, this gave me large meaty pieces for my classic French stew . . .
Since I didn’t have pearl onions (which are traditional), I sautéed shallots before I added my mushrooms . . .
I removed the sautéed shallots and mushrooms to a bowl, and got to work on my vegan stand-ins for beef.
I decided to use two different types of plant-based beef (Gardein Home Style Beefless Tips and Upton’s Naturals Traditional Seitan), along with two types of Better than Boullion (No Beef Base and Mushroom Base).
In the same skillet I used to sautée the shallots, mushrooms, and garlic, I sautéed the Gardein Homestyle Beefless Tips . . .
. . . and then sautéed the Upton’s Naturals Traditional Seitan (which I had sliced up into slightly smaller, irregular shaped pieces).
And, while I was sautéing, I used the stems from my elm oyster mushrooms to intensify the broth I made from the two types of Better than Bouillion.
Then, I strained my mushroom broth, made a roux, and added the carrots, red wine, tomato paste, tamari, Bay leaf, thyme, letting everything cook down a bit before adding my sautéed Beefless Tips, Seitan, and then the mushrooms and shallots. (Just follow my recipe below!)
As everything simmers, make your noodles . . .
and chop your flat-leaf parsley.
When my red wine sauce was cooked down and smelled rich and sinfully delicious, I served my vegan Beef and Mushroom Bourguignon over the noodles and garnished with parsley.
What a wonderful rich, hearty and satisfying winter stew – just about perfect for a cold weekend evening!
- 6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or vegan butter, divided use
- 12 -15 shallots, halved
- ½ lb. white or cremenii mushrooms, halved or quartered depending on size
- ¾ lb. elm oyster mushrooms, torn or sliced
- 3 garlic gloves, pressed or minced
- 9 ounces Gardein Homestyle Beefless Tips, frozen
- 8 ounces Upton's Naturals Traditional Seitan, thawed and cut into irregular pieces
- 1-2 tablespoons of flour
- 1½ tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups dry red wine
- 1½ cups vegetable broth or stock (simmered along with ½ teaspoon Better than Bouillion No Beef Base, ½ teaspoon Better than Bouillion Mushroom Base, and mushroom stems)
- 1 cup organic mini carrots
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme or 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1teaspoon tamari
- Bay leaf
- ½ lb. egg noodles
- 2-3 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
- Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt
- Add 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegan butter to a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Sauté the shallots (sliced in half if very large) for about 4-5 minutes. Add the mushrooms (you should have about 7-8 cups), pressed garlic, and sauté until brown and carmelized. Season with a little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Do not wipe out your skillet.
- Reduce the heat to a medium-low, and add another tablespoon of olive oil or vegan butter. Sauté the Gardein Home Style Beefless Tips for about 6-7 minutes until browned. Remove from the skillet with a slotted spoon to a plate, and then do the same thing with the Seitan. Remove the Seitan from the skillet and put it on the same plate as the Beefless Tips. Make sure to leave as much oil and fond in the skillet as possible.
- Add another tablespoon or two of oil or vegan butter to the pan, and stir in the flour. Cook for a minute or two to create a roux. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another minute. Add the red wine, strained mushroom stock that you've been simmering on another burner, carrots, tamari, thyme, and Bay leaf. Cook for about 10 minutes and then add the sautéed beefless tips and seitan. Partially cover and cook for another 10 minutes and then add the mushrooms and shallots. Continue to cook for about 30 more minutes until the mixture is thickened and has a rich and delicious fragrance.
- In a large spot of boiling salted water, cook the egg noodles (or the vegan noodles) according to package directions. Drain in a colander and put back in the hot pasta pot in which they were boiled. Add a tablespoon of olive oil or vegan butter and toss to coat. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.
- Taste the beef and mushroom mixture, remove the Bay leaf, adjust seasonings, and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve over the hot noodles along with a good red Burgundy.
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