Lapsang Scented Chestnut Mushroom Stroganoff

There are some recipes that I make often, like African Vegetable Curry, Thai Green Curry and Russian Mushroom Tofu Strogonoff, but sometimes I do like to try other variations.  So when I won Mildreds Cookbook a couple of weeks ago, I knew exactly what I wanted to make first - the Lapsang Scented Mushroom Stroganoff and it was bookmarked.  I must mention though that I do not like drinking Lapsang Souchang.  I find its smokiness overwhelming, but I was curious to try it in a vegetarian main meal as I could see how the smokiness could lend itself to a dish like Strogonoff.

I have never been to Mildred's Restaurant in Soho, London.  The plan is of course to dine there one-day, as I have both heard and read some positive reviews.  However, I don't venture out of South Wales that often, the furthest we travel at weekends is just over the border - sometimes into Bristol and sometimes Bath.  So I am pleased to now have the opportunity to have a little Mildred's inspiration in my home through the cookbook.

Well yesterday when I got home from work, glad to be indoors as the weather had suddenly turned to streaky chilly rain and this gave me the perfect excuse to make a deep warming dish.

The original recipe for Lapsang Mushroom Stroganoff  is for 8 people, but I halved the quantity.  The paprika stained Lapsang Souchong creamy sauce was thickened with cornflour and lusciously rich.  Although I only used chestnut mushrooms, roasting them in the oven for 15 minutes or so, did somewhat make them seem more 'meatier'.  I will so, so be making this again and it made a welcome change from my usual Mushroom Tofu Strogonoff.   

If the authors of Mildred The Cookbook grant me permission to publish the recipe here on my blog, then I will up-date this post, otherwise you will have to get your mitts on the cookbook. Here is a link to a review of Mildreds The Cookbook.  I am sharing this with for Bookmarked Recipes hosted by Tinned Tomatoes.

Surprise Cabbage Pies

Be patient, you’ll see why in a moment
In an attempt to use up the remaining cabbage in the fridge, this recipe began as a version of the Russian kulibiaka (pronounced koo-leeb-yah-ka). Kulibiaka is a pastry pie traditionally made with cabbage, however this quickly morphed into the French adaptation of the coulibiac (pronounced koo-leeb-yahk) which includes rice, mushrooms, hard boiled eggs and salmon, but of course I wanted to make a relatively quick vegetarian alternative. So this is what we ended up with. I know, absolutely nothing like the real thing, but we enjoyed them. The subtle flavour of the cabbage came through with the parsley, and the surprise: simply a hard boiled egg.

These cabbage pastry pies were quite large, so I actually though that you don’t need very much else with it, but D my husband, demi-vegetarian by association had other ideas. Today he insisted that he wanted his served with some salmon. He had decided that he wanted his cabbage pie to be as close to a coulibiac as it could be. I let him be. I think it is good of him to be eating what I cook for him and without fuss I hasten to add, so I wasn’t going to make an issue of the accompaniment on his plate.

Surprise Cabbage Pies
Serves 2 greedy people or 4 with accompaniments
Ingredients
250g cabbage, thinly sliced
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely sliced
2 hard boiled eggs, kept whole or cut in half if making 4 portions
3 - 4 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
375g ready rolled puff pastry

Method
Heat oven to gas mark 6.Cook cabbage in boiling water until tender, drain and set aside. Heat the oil and cook the onion until soft, add the cabbage, stir well and cook for 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the parsley. Season well. Either cut out 2 round circles with the puff pastry, you may need to re-roll the pastry or use the ready rolled pastry as it is and spread the cooked cabbage, leaving about ½ inch for sealing. Then put in the egg, either half or whole, and then gently pull the pastry ends to pinch together to seal (look at image below), gently transfer onto a lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake in oven for 20 - 30 minutes until well risen and golden brown. Serve immediately. Please note these pies can be made either into individuals portions, or in a long loaf style.

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage

Yesterday I posed a question on my blog about my red cabbages and a number of fellow bloggers came up with some lovely recipe suggestions, but I was drawn to Fred's Russian family heritage recipe for 'sweet and sour red cabbage' (see below). I have seen many versions of this dish. Some have red currant jelly, some have caraway seed, some can be eaten hot, others cold, but I have to admit I was never tempted at all as I thought it looked boring, but decided to give it a go after receiving Fred's suggestion. Well I have to conclude, I am a convert. The flavour is sweet and sour but not sharp. Whilst cooking this dish I had been tasting it so see if it was meltingly tender, I tasted it so much, that we hardly have any left to eat with mashed potatoes later on. Oh well, I think that's a good sign that I like it!
For those of you who have not visited Fred's vegetable gardening blog, Grown Away please do stop by for a nosy round; and give him a warm welcome to the growing and blogging world.

Fred's Grandmothers 'Sweet and sour Red Cabbage'
Serves 4
All in one: Ingredients and Method
50g or 1/2 a stick of butter, 1 head of red cabbage (about a kilo or a bit less) cut into quarters. Remove the outer leaves and white core. Slice nice and thin, 6 (75g) tablespoons of sugar, I used brown sugar, and 150 ml of balsamic vinegar.Melt the butter over medium heat & saute the cabbage until it starts wilting, add the sugar, coating the cabbage evenly, add vinegar, reduce to medium-low. Cover and simmer the cabbage until it is tender (about 30-35 minutes). Remove the cabbage, season with a pinch of salt or pepper.

Fred writes 'It's a simple recipe that tastes great'. I for one am not going to disagree.