Mushroom Stronganoff

Ahh, vegetarian stuff. 

If it includes pasta, I'm totally OK with it. 

How's your day, by the way?  I'm having...one of those days.  I feel dumb, I feel like other people around me are dumb, I want to drink wine and watch Friends reruns....you know.  It happens. 

Nope, not pregnant or PMS-y, buttheads.  It's a legit "cause" for moods sometimes, but not today. 

And sometimes on these days we just need pasta, mmkay?  Creamy is always good, and meat is great....BUT why not just use mushrooms sorta like meat and call it a day?

In fairness, I use beef stock in this.  So, there's no meat, but there is meat product.  If that's an issue for you, use vegetable stock and move on with your world - this meal is still delicious!

Also.  I cut these mushrooms super tiny because my husband doesn't like the texture of mushrooms (except oyster 'shrooms so...riddle me that), but sliced or roughly chopped would be perfectly acceptable if you aren't feeding an adult that acts like a child but is an adult.

He eats most of my other weird creations, including but no limited to charred granola so...I'm not complaining. 

This is ugly, but totally delicious.  Stroganoff is a gravy-ish sauce made with sour cream, and MAN is it good.  There are a lot of ways to jazz this up with fresh herbs or even meat if you're feeling fancy, but this mushroom version is simple and cozy and delicious. 

You need mushrooms, stock, flour, onion, garlic, salt/olive oil, pasta - any kind you like, Worcestershire sauce (not in the picture because I was rushing), and sour cream.  That is 8 ingredients, and you can totally handle that. 

For the mushrooms, any kind you like is perfect - you need 2 pints for 10 ounces of pasta - not a whole box, and it'll make enough for 2- 4 servings.  Oh, and guess what?  I used a bunch of mushroom STEMS I had reserved from making these stuffed mushrooms last week and 3 sad wilted leftover mushrooms.  Seriously.  Don't throw stuff away - it's still part of the mushroom, people!

Whatever kind of mushrooms you go with, chop them coarsely or finely depending on your clientele. While you're chopping, preheat a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil. Cook and drain your pasta while you're making the sauce. 

Now, add the mushrooms to the pan and let them sizzle and cook for 10 minutes until they release most of their liquid and brown a bit - stir them every 2 minutes or so.  

While the mushrooms are cooking, slice the onion and mince the garlic. When the mushrooms are mostly cooked, add the onion, garlic, and a sprinkle of salt.  Stir the mixture together, and cook for 3 minutes more until the onions start to soften. 

To the veggies, sprinkle the flour all over, and stir so that the flour coats the vegetable mixture.  Let the flour cook out for 1 - 2 minutes.  

Then, pour in the beef broth, stirring as you go to create a light gravy - it won't be terribly thick.  If the gravy thickens quickly, add water 2 tablespoons at a time to thin it out. 

Let the beef broth mixture come to a bubble, then stir in the sour cream. 

Grab the Worcestershire, and add that too!

That's it for this sauce!  Stir it all together and let it simmer and reduce for 2 - 3 minutes.  Add water to thin it out, or turn the heat up to increase the simmer and reduce and thicken the sauce.  Taste the gravy, and add salt to your preference. 

Now, there are two ways to serve this.  You can put the sauce right on top of pasta with a dollop of extra sour cream, which I think is very pretty. 

BUT you could also put all the pasta in the gravy and spin it all together - a more even distribution of sauce to pasta, if you're into that kind of thing. 

The problem with that, of course, is that it isn't quiiiiite as pretty on the plate, especially when you serve it on a weird green plate.  Sorry about that. 

Either way you serve this, though, it's perfectly delicious, totally simple, and moderately healthy, which is all we're really going for here, right?  

Try this one soon, and enjoy!  It's a favorite of mine.