Mardis Gras 2014 Part 2: Vegan Spinach & Mushroom Étouffée

Another inspiration from Yat’s, as described in the previous post, is a spinach and mushroom étouffée. This is a peppery and creamy dish, not as sweet as the B&B, but also one of our favorite (non-Korean) dishes for a party as it will feed quite a lot.

This recipe takes some planning in advance if you don’t have easy access to vegan cream of mushroom and celery soup at your local store, as you have to make your own – which means soaking cashews if you don’t have a high powered blender, like a Vitamix. If you do have access to the soups, it’s a breeze, but I personally prefer it made with my own versions of the soup, and then you can have leftovers of the soups to eat later too!

Vegan Spinach and Mushroom Étouffée recipe
Serves 12

Ingredients:
1 Tbs of vegan butter
2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 1/2 cup diced onion
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon vegetarian Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce
32 ounces (4 cups) of vegan cream of mushroom soup (see below)
3/4 cup vegan cream of celery soup (see below)
*1 ½ cups water (more or less as needed for consistency)
1 lb package of frozen spinach or 4 bunches of fresh spinach
1 lb package of fresh, pre-sliced mushrooms (I used portabella)

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
5 cups uncooked rice, cooked, to serve over

Directions:
Saute garlic, onion, and green pepper in butter until soft. Stir in spices, soups, water, spinach, and mushrooms. Bring to simmer and cook on low (I used slow cooker for several hours). Pour étouffée over rice and garnish to serve. Amount of spices can be adjusted for heat, as can amount of water for consistency – just remember it’s easier to add water to thin then to try and thicken after you’ve already added the water.

Now, this is a simple recipe and very easy to put together if you have vegan cream of celery and mushroom soups available in your local stores. Imagine makes vegan versions of both cream of celery and cream of mushroom. But I’ve included my own at the bottom of the recipe – just remember to soak your cashews the night before, or make your soups in advance.

Cook the vegetables until the onions are transparent.

Then just add all the remaining ingredients (in a slow cooker if you have them) and cook at a low heat. Enjoy!

 

Vegan cream of mushroom soup recipe (4 cups)
Ingredients:
½ yellow or white onion, diced
1 cup cashew cream
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 cloves garlic, crushed or diced
1 cup of mushrooms, diced
2 Tbs vegan margarine
3 Tbs flour
1 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Make the cashew cream first (see below). If you want it very rich, you can make more cashew cream instead of the almond milk, or just use almond milk if you don’t mind it being less rich and just want to use store bought milk for convenience. Cook the onions, mushrooms, and garlic in butter over medium heat until soft. Add the thyme and flour and stir to make a roux. Stir in the milks and continue to stir and cook until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

Vegan cream of celery soup recipe (1-2 cups)
Ingredients:
½ yellow or white onion, diced
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup cashew cream (see below)
1 cup celery, diced
1 Tbs vegan margarine
2 Tbs flour
1 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
This is very similar to the cream of mushroom soup recipe. Cook the onion and celery in butter until soft. Add flour and thyme and stir into a roux. Add milks and stir until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Directions for Cashew Cream (1 & 1/2 cups)
Take 1 cup of whole, raw cashews and soak for 5- 8 hours (or if you have a Vitamix or similarly high powered blender, you can get by pouring boiling water over them to cover and then soaking for 15 minutes or skipping the soak altogether).

Put the cashews in your blender and top with 1 inch of water. Blend on high for several minutes until smooth (may want to blend for at least 5 minutes if you don’t have a high powered blender).

Remember, if you’re making the soups, it doesn’t hurt to just make more cream so you can double the soup recipes to save for later since you’re already doing the work. Of course, this makes a lot of étouffée so you may have leftovers of it anyway. Enjoy and Laissez les bons temps rouler!