Champignons et Légumes au Vin (Mushrooms & Vegetables in a Red Wine Sauce)

I was left in charge of cooking a vegetarian/vegan version of Coq au Vin for a dinner party with friends. Only 3 of us were veggie, but I made enough to serve 4-6 as I knew the meaties would want to try some too! I've stuck pretty well to the original classic French version, but bulked the casserole out with extra mushrooms and vegetables.

I think this meal is tasty enough to work as a vegan Christmas dinner alternative, especially as it can be prepared in advance and will go with all the traditional Christmas dinner vegetables.You could serve it as it is, as a pie filling, or even in a giant Yorkshire pudding! 

Serves 4-6

• 2 cups/500ml full-bodied vegan red wine (for a lighter version, use white wine, cider or half wine/half vegetable stock)
• 4 medium carrots, thickly sliced
• 4 celery sticks, de-stringed and thickly sliced
• 20 baby onions or small shallots, peeled but left whole 
• 1lb/450g button mushrooms (or mixed, chopped mushrooms), wiped
• 1 small clove of garlic, crushed
• 2 or 3 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp chopped, fresh parsley
• a sprig or two of fresh thyme and/or rosemary
• ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp plain flour

Heat the olive oil in a large pan, on a medium heat. Add the onions and saute for around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.

Add the rest of the vegetables, garlic, herbs and seasonings and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.

Stir in the flour and coat the vegetables. 

Pour in the wine slowly, stirring all the time and bring to the boil to thicken the sauce.

Turn the heat down and simmer, with the lid on, for around 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. 

Add a little extra wine or stock if the sauce becomes too thick.

Serve with roasted potatoes and parsnips and/or seasonal vegetables.

Money-saving tip: I used baby onions and button mushrooms as they look appealing, but it's much cheaper to use 'big veg.' instead. You could add pretty much any combination of root or firm vegetables in this recipe, such as green beans, potatoes or squash.

Protein alternatives: As I've removed the chicken from this recipe, it doesn't contain very much protein. To replace the protein, reduce the amount of vegetables slightly and add 4-6 chicken-style meat-free fillets (after you have added the wine), or a drained tin of pulses or pack of cooked, whole chestnuts (10 minutes before serving).

Alcohol-free option: If you avoid alcohol for religious reasons, simply swap it for a good, rich vegetable stock and add some extra herbs and garlic.

I'm adding this recipe to Carole's Chatter: Low Carb Dinners and Lavender & Lovage's Cooking with Herbs.

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Vegetable and Chickpea Tagine

This recipe is adapted from one a friend passed on to me from Delicious Magazine. The original recipe included lamb and honey, which I have substituted for extra vegetables and a little sugar. I also reduced the fat content considerably by cutting down on the suggested amounts of olive oil. 

Serves 4-6

Main ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, cut into chunks
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• ½ butternut squash, peeled and de-seeded, and cut into chunks
• 100g/4oz mushrooms, whole or cut into quarters, depending on size.
• 100g/4oz green beans, cut into 2" pieces
• 1 or 2 large white potatoes or small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 400g/16oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 or 3 strips of lemon zest
• 500ml/1 pt hot vegetable stock

For the chermoula:

• 2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp harissa paste
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves
• 1 tbsp fresh mint leaves
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Couscous:

• 2 cups couscous
• 2 cups vegetable stock (made with a stock cube and boiling water)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp chermoula

First, make the chermoula by putting all the ingredients into a mini food processor. Blend to a smooth paste, then set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large pan. Add the onion, squash and potatoes and fry over a medium heat until just starting to brown. Add the cinnamon, ginger and 2 tablespoons of the chermoula, and cook for a couple of minutes.
Throw in the green beans, mushrooms and chickpeas.
Add the tomatoes, stock and sugar and stir.
Cover the pan and simmer gently for 30-40 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile put the couscous and 2 tsp of the remaining chermoula into heatproof bowl and stir in the boiling water, lemon juice and oil. Cover with cling film and leave for 5 minutes.
Uncover the bowl and fluff up with a fork.

Finally mix the remaining chermoula into the tagine and stir well. Simmer for just a couple more minutes before serving.

Serve with couscous and/or flatbread.

Alternatives: Swap the sugar in the tagine for a handful of chopped, dried apricots. 
Use any combinations of firm vegetables....this would be great way to use up gluts of home-grown vegetables such as courgettes and runner beans.
This recipe also works well with meat substitutes such as Quorn....use your preferred meat-sub instead of the extra vegetables.
You could make this a lower-fat dish by reducing the amount of oil still further, but I feel that as it's a vegan family meal, a glug of good quality olive oil is a good thing!

I'm linking this recipe to The Spice Trail challenge over at Bangers and Mash. This month's theme is cumin.

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Quorn and Mushrooms in a White Wine & Tarragon Sauce

Here's a 1980's retro recipe which I've adapted by using meat-free fillets to make a lower fat, vegetarian version (and a vegan option). If you don't eat meat substitutes, simply swap them for extra mushrooms.

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 4 Quorn fillets/vegan chicken-style fillets 
• 200g button mushrooms, halved
• 150ml dry white wine 
• 300ml vegetable stock (made with a stock cube)
• 1 level tbsp plain flour
• 2 tsp tarragon leaves, finely chopped
• 4 tbsp double cream or dairy-free cream (optional)
• 500g new potatoes, boiled, drained (and sauteed in 1 tbsp olive oil - optional).

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and gently saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes until the onion is soft.
Add the mushrooms and cook for a further couple of minutes until they start to release their juices.
Remove from the heat and stir in the flour to coat the vegetables.

Slowly stir in the wine, 200ml of the stock and the tarragon, making sure there are no lumps of flour.
Return to the heat and gently bring to a simmer, stirring all the time, until the sauce has thickened.
Pop the Quorn fillets into the sauce and simmer with the lid on, for approximately 20 minutes.

Stir occasionally and turn the Quorn fillets over. Adding a little more of the remaining stock if needed, to make a pourable sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream, if using.

Serve with sauteed or boiled new-potatoes and steamed asparagus or tender-stem broccoli.

Alternatives: This also makes a great pasta sauce without the Quorn. Cook as above using slightly less stock. Simmer for 5 minutes to thicken the sauce, then stir in the cream if using.
Serve over cooked tagliatelle.

I’m adding this recipe to the Speedy Suppers linky, hosted by Sarah at Dinner With Crayons and Katie at Feeding Boys. Pin It