Mushroom and Tofu Stroganoff

I’m going to put this out there; I didn’t really like my first attempt at Stroganoff. However, Ben’s response to this effort was a great deal more positive, so I have decided to include it and you can come to your own conclusions. Having recently discovered the big wide world of meat substitutes I was eager to try cooking with tofu. I stumbled across this recipe whilst flicking through some of my parents cookbooks over Christmas, I always have leftover mushrooms in the fridge that need using up and thought this would be the perfect solution to that problem. The recipe was simple enough; you just need to remember to marinate the tofu for a few hours before. I substituted Tamari (a strong type of soy sauce) for regular soy sauce, as my local shop is very limited, and also used dried tarragon instead of fresh. I think my main criticism was that I found the flavours all very overpowering, the red wine was particularly prominent, and the meal was very heavy. However, this is exactly what appealed to Ben about the recipe so I shan’t right it off completely, but just warn you in advance.

From Cranks Fast Food

Serves 2

200ml red wine

2 tbsp tamari

275g firm tofu, cut into 2 cm cubes

3 tbsp groundnut oil

1 chopped onion

5 chopped garlic cloves

200g chestnut mushrooms, whole

120ml double cream

Tarragon

1. Combine the wine, Tamari and three tablespoons of water into a dish and add the tofu. Marinate.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil into a heavy bottomed pan and fry the onion and garlic until golden. Add the mushrooms and sauté for around 5 minutes.
3. In another pan, heat the remaining oil and sauté the tofu with a little of the marinade, turning to make it golden on all sides.
4. Add cream and half a tarragon sprig (or 2 tsp dried tarragon) to the mushrooms, bring to the boil, reduce and simmer for a minute. Add the remaining marinade to the mushrooms and simmer until the sauce is creamy.
5. Add the tofu and remaining tarragon (if using fresh) to the mushrooms, season and serve with rice.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £10

Kitchen Requirements: TWO PANS, LARGE BOWL