Featured recipe from Marilu’s table * Wild mushroom stew
As the temperatures cool, make a pot of this yummy stew to enjoy. Serve it with a green salad and whole-grain toast.
To clean mushrooms, wipe them with a dry paper towel. When mushrooms are wet before cooking, they get sort of gummy and chewy.
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Wild Mushroom Stew
Blue * Serves 4
4-1/2 cups stemmed and quartered shiitake mushrooms (about 8 ounces)
4-1/2 cups quartered cremini mushrooms
1 8-ounce package button mushrooms, quartered
1 Tablespoon plus 1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced organic leeks (about 2 medium)
1 cup chopped fennel (about 1 small bulb)
1 cup 1-inch-thick sliced carrots
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups vegetable stock
2 Tablespoons low-sodium tamari
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon agave syrup
1 14.5-ounce can chopped organic tomatoes, drained
1 Tablespoon arrowroot
Preheat the oven to 450F.
To prepare the stew, combine all the mushrooms and 1 Tablespoon oil in a single layer on a jellyroll pan. Bake the mushrooms for 30 minutes, stirring once, until tender and browned.
In a Dutch oven over medium heat, heat 1-1/2 teaspoons oil. Add leeks, fennel and carrots and cook 5 minutes, or until the carrots are softened. Sprinkle the vegetable mixture with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover, reduce the heat and cook 10 minutes. Uncover and add the mushrooms, stock, tamari, tarragon, thyme, agave and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. Stir in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.
In a small bowl, combine the arrowroot and 1 Tablespoon water. Stir the arrowroot mixture into the mushroom mixture and cook 1 minute more, to a nice thick stew texture. Serve hot.
