Mushroom Bourguignon (Vegan)

by | May 19, 2023 | Recipes

I grew up on traditional beef burgundy (or, as Julia would have it, Boeuf Bourguignon). My mother would make it and I gobbled it up. Over Manischewitz Extra Wide Egg Noodles, of course. With butter. But in healthier times, as we’re trying to save our own health and the planet’s, it’s time for a re-make. This one is based on a recipe from the NYT and uses mushrooms instead of planet-killing beef and heart-healthy olive oil rather than butter. The secret to making this is in the sear and the herbs. If you have some Herbs de Provence around, you can use those. I like to add Penzey’s Justice and Sunny Paris. Or you could stick with the thyme and some salt and pepper.
Mushroom Bourguignon
Ingredients:
  • Olive oil
  • 2 pounds mushrooms
    I use 1 pound Baby Bellas with the stems popped off and the caps cut into quarters, .75 pound Shiitakes with the stems cut off and the caps cut into 1-inch pieces, and the rest made up of whatever looks good, cut into approximately 1” pieces
  • 1/2 pound peeled pearl onions
    You can find these in the freezer section of most grocery stores, but it’s better to use fresh ones if you can get them because you can cut them in half, which makes eating easier.
  • 1 large leek, white & light green parts, diced
    Leeks grow in a way that traps dirt, so first dice ( https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/how-to-cut-leeks/) , then put the pieces in a sieve and rinse well.
  • 4 carrots, cut in half-inch rounds (If you’re using the thick, heavy carrots, use 3—this is to taste.)
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups mushroom broth (or vegetable broth—I like to keep “Better than Bullion” around and they recently came out with a mushroom version)
  • 2 cups red wine
  • Soy sauce or Tamari
  • 3 large fresh thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • Herbs and spices to taste (see above for my favorites)

Step 1:

Mix together mushroom pieces and onions in a large bowl.
Put 1 Tbs (hereafter, a “glug”) olive oil in dutch oven, and heat. Add 1/3 of mushroom mixture into dutch oven and turn heat to medium-high. Add a second glug of olive oil and stir, then leave alone for about 5 minutes. You want the mushrooms to get a hard sear on one side, as you would meat. Once browned on one side, stir and leave for another 3 minutes, until fully browned. Remove to a medium sized bowl.
Repeat with other 2 thirds of the mushroom mixture. Turn off heat while you remove the last third of mushrooms to bowl.

Step 2:

Add another Tbs of oil to dutch oven and turn the heat to medium-low, then add leeks and carrots and sauté, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until leeks are soft. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute (you don’t want to burn it!). Add tomato paste and stir. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir for one minute. Add wine, broth, soy sauce, and thyme. Cook, stirring and scraping up delicious brown bits on bottom of the pot, until smooth.

Step 3:

Add mushroom mixture back to the pot and bring to a boil. Taste and add any additional herbs/spices/salt/pepper you like. Then lower heat to a simmer, cover partially, and simmer 30-45 minutes, until alcohol sharpness is gone and sauce has thickened into a nice gravy instead a liquid. Serve over egg noodles, rice, or polenta.