Mushroom Stroganoff (Thermomix)

How to cook a seriously tasty, mushroom stroganoff in your Thermomix, with optional cauliflower rice steamed in the Varoma to go with it...

A very healthy, easy, low calorie recipe which has proved enduringly popular and loved by everyone who has made it, so I've converted it to the Thermomix - and as well as being low calorie (and of couse, delicious), it's also very easy to make, and you can tweak it to suit you. (For the non-Thermomix recipe and method, click here)

If you're not after a low calorie dish, then feel free to use full fat crème fraiche, and throw in a good knob of butter with the onions and garlic, and then serve it with a healthy helping of straw potatoes, rice, or even mashed potatoes or flat noodles. If you are eating lean, you'll still find this is packed full of flavour and tastes much more creamy and indulgent than it really is! I use full fat Greek yoghurt instead of soured cream to make mine, to cut the calories but keep the flavour, and with a generous serving of cauliflower rice it's from a mere 234 calories for a large and filling dish full of tasty food! If you're eating with someone else who isn't cutting back, just halve the amount of cauliflower rice for a single portion for you, and give it to them with a healthy helping of carbs, as above.

Serves 2, calories per serving as follows for the stroganoff alone:
If using 0% fat Greek yoghurt  -  148
If using full fat Greek yogurt - recommended*  -  160
If using half fat crème fraiche  -  182

*I use 'Total' brand Greek yoghurt, full fat, as my preference
 
Add on 86 calories per serving for a portion of cauliflower rice, and another 11 calories per serving if you use wine.
Make sure you’re using sweet/mild paprika (especially with the smoked variety) or this might pack more of a punch than you’re expecting! [Calories in square brackets, if you're counting]

Ingredients

• 450g mushrooms (preferably chestnut, or other well-flavoured, or a mixture), cleaned and cut into quarters or halves - around an inch 'square' (but not sliced) [you could add an extra 225g and squeeze three servings out of it, as there is plenty of sauce] [72]
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled [18]
• 1 onion, peeled and quartered (about 100g) [41]
• 5g butter [37]
• 150ml quality beef stock/boullion (or vegetable stock, for vegetarians - you could make up using marmite/vegemite for a richer flavour) [8]
• 60g half fat crème fraiche OR greek yoghurt (full fat, or 0%) [102 / 58 / 34]
• 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley (drop it on running blades, speed 8, before you start if you prefer, but I find it easier to do this small amount by hand rather than scraping it out for the next stage!) [2]
• Salt (to taste)
• 30g ice cubes (3 average sized)

Sauce/seasoning ingredients (put all together in the same bowl)

• 1 and ½ tsp English mustard powder e.g. Coleman's [15]
• 1 and ½ tsp paprika (sweet/mild) [9]
• 1 tsp smoked paprika (sweet/mild, or just use another teaspoon of normal paprika) [6]
• Freshly ground black pepper (plenty!) [3]
• 30ml/g dry white wine [25] OR 1 x 15ml tbsp cider/white wine vinegar [3]
• 30g concentrated tomato puree/paste [30]
• 3 tsp Worcestershire sauce (or vegetarian/vegan alternative [e.g. make your own with 2 tsp soy sauce or tamari for GF, plus 1/4 tsp lemon juice or vinegar plus 1/4 tsp sugar plus a couple of drops of chilli sauce], some Worcestershire sauce is supposedly gluten free, some is not - check the bottle to be sure! Lea & Perrins proclaim theirs to be gluten free, yet the bottle says it contains gluten!) [17]
• Sprinkle/pinch of cayenne pepper, to taste (e.g. no more than ¼ tsp) [1]

To serve

• 450g cauliflower florets (optional, to make cauliflower rice) [171]

Method
1. Once your ingredients are prepared as above, mix all the sauce/seasoning ingredients briefly in a small bowl, so that there are no lumps and set aside.

2. If you're having with cauliflower rice, weigh out 450g of cauliflower florets (for two people), add to the bowl, then whizz for about 5 seconds / Speed 4, check, then whizz for another 2 seconds (or more until desired consistency - not too fine, as you don't want it to fall through the holes in the Varoma tray). Spread over the top Varoma tray, making gaps for the steam to get through, and set aside, covered by the lid. Give the bowl a quick rinse. (If desired, you can add other vegetables to the bottom of the Varoma, providing you leave plenty of gaps for the steam to get through).

3. Drop the garlic onto running blades, Speed 7, then turn down to Speed 4 and drop the onion onto the running blades, until chopped. 

4. Turn off the blades, add 5g butter, then cook 4 minutes / Varoma / Speed 1 / MC OFF (don't worry about any slight bits of light caramelisation on the bottom, it gives a good flavour).  

5. Add the sauce/seasonings, scraping it all in from the bowl, and the stock, and stir to incorporate, 5 seconds /Reverse / Speed 3 / MC ON.

6. Add the quartered mushrooms to the bowl, and cook 5 minutes / 100C / Reverse / Speed Spoon / MC Off. It may look like a lot of mushrooms for two people, but trust me, in 5 minutes time you'll wonder where they've disappeared to! 

7. If not cooking cauliflower rice, scrape down then cook for 10 minutes / 100C / Reverse / Speed Spoon / MC OFF then skip to the Finishing stage below. (If cooking cauli rice, skip this stage and go straight to stage 8 now, do not cook for 10 minutes).

8. If cooking cauliflower rice, scrape down, then place the Varoma (with cauliflower rice in it) on top of the Thermomix, and then continue to cook for 5 minutes / Varoma temperature / Reverse / Speed Spoon. When it beeps, carefully remove the Varoma lid, and gently but quickly stir the cauliflower rice, moving it around, then make some more spaces in it for the steam to get through, replace the lid, and finish cooking on top of the stroganoff for 5 minutes / Varoma temperature / Reverse / Speed Spoon. Check that you're happy with the consistency of the cauliflower rice, then set aside to keep warm for a few minutes (it will be fine just sitting in the Varoma with the lid on, if you like), while you finish the stroganoff.

Finishing
The next bit is very important to minimise the risk of the yoghurt / crème fraiche splitting / curdling in the sauce. 

9. Give the yoghurt / crème fraiche a good whip with a fork before you add it to avoid lumps, and you need to cool the sauce down slightly first or it will curdle, by doing the following:-
10. After you've removed the cauliflower rice (if cooking), add 30g ice cubes (about 3) to the stroganoff, and stir in until melted/incorporated for 1 minute / Speed 1 - you should notice the temperature has dropped to 80C after 1 minute. 

11. Add the majority of the chopped parsley (reserving a little to garnish), and (after whipping with a fork until smooth) add the 60g yoghurt / crème fraiche and stir in at Speed 2 / 15 seconds or until thoroughly mixed. 

12. Try a little of the sauce, then add salt (and even a little more freshly ground black pepper if you like) to taste - for me, it's 1/2 a tsp of fine sea salt - and give another quick stir to incorporate, until you're happy with the level of seasoning. If you want it creamier, add more dairy and adjust the calories accordingly.

Serve immediately, with your choice of sides (green vegetables are good), sprinkled with the reserved parsley, and enjoy whilst patting yourself on the back for being so saintly!

If you've made this recipe and enjoyed it, or made any interesting changes or substitutes to it which you  think other people might enjoy, please do take a minute or two to leave a comment below for other people to read when you get a chance. Thank you :)

Notes
It's not advisable to make a straight substitution of beef or chicken (or any other meat or fish) for the mushrooms in this recipe for two reasons; firstly, the mushrooms give out a lot of water, and this recipe has been developed to take that into account where the sauce and seasoning are concerned - because it is cooked on 100C / Varoma temperature for a significant amount of time and acertain amount of liquid evaporates leaving the sauce behind. Secondly, if you boil either chicken or beef or other animal proteins for 15 minutes, you'll be in  that unpleasant place where they are neither just cooked and moist, and nor have the connective tissues broken down to give you tender, falling apart meat - it will be tough and dry. However, you could potentially cut the mushrooms down to 250g, then follow the recipe as above to the end, and then add 200-300g thinly sliced chicken or beef and cook for a further few minutes until the chicken is cooked through, or the steak is cooked to your liking (I would cook at a lower temperature, say 80C), but I haven't tried this myself, it's just what I *would* do if I was going to add meat! You can add the yoghurt before or after you add the meat, provided you don't boil the sauce and stick to 80C or less (chicken is cooked through at around 73C).