Tangy, savory, and just-spicy-enough, stroganoff is a great rainy-day comfort food. Every time I make seitan (there’s a good recipe here if you need it) I end up making stroganoff with the leftovers, and I think tonight’s iteration is the best yet.
Using good, hot paprika makes all the difference.
Ingredients
- ½ lb seitan, sliced into ¼-inch strips
- 1 T hot paprika
- 3 T vegetable oil
- ¼ lb mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 C broth
- 2 T sherry vinegar
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1-3 T heavy cream
- salt, to taste
- ½ lb pasta, cooked
- Toss the seitan in the paprika, so that each piece is coated.
- Heat oil in a large skillet. Add seitan and sauté for a few minutes, until the first side is cooked. Flip and cook the other side.
- Remove seitan from pan and add mushrooms. Cook until tender.
- Remove mushrooms from pan. Add broth and vinegar, and bring to a simmer.
- Turn off heat and add cream cheese. Stir to dissolve — it’s going to look weird and curdled for a few minutes, but it will eventually melt into the sauce.
- Add cooked seitan and mushrooms, and heavy cream to pan. Add salt as needed, and serve over noodles. Top with more heavy cream if desired.
I thought I hated barley until I actually tried it. Chris and I have been hooked on it for a couple weeks. Delicious! And, dare I say, nutritious.
The trick to making barley tasty and not mushy is rocking the pilaf. Instead of a sticky, health-foody mess o glop, you get lovely little individual grains that pop oh so slightly when you chew them. Delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 T butter (or 1 if you’re wimpy/dieting/short on butter)
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 12 crimini mushrooms, sliced nice and thin
- hefty pinch of salt
- about 12 fresh sage leaves, cut into ribbons
- 1 C pearl barley
- 2 C water
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add garlic and cook until soft, then add mushrooms, salt, and sage, and cook until mushrooms are all nice and cooked.
- Add the barley and stir to get each grain coated with butter. Keep stirring and cooking until you smell toasty goodness.
- Add water, cover, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook for 30 minutes.
- Check the barley — it might still need a few more minutes. If there’s still liquid in the pan, give it a little more time. If it’s ready, fluff with a fork and serve. Sprinkle with nooch if you like.
