Taste of the Week – Veganism and Veganuary

From clare.fm

On this week’s episode of Taste Of The Week, Alan Morrissey welcomed Jacques Brennan on to the show. Jacques is the owner of the Vegan Factory and Shop in O’Briensbridge and is also the author of Hungry Soul.

This week, Jacques prepared Mushroom & Chestnut Bourguinon which is the ultimate vegan dish. Jacques spoke about the topic of veganism and what it is along with describing the types of food vegans eat and encouraged people to embrace Veganuary this month.

INGREDIENTS FOR RECIPE:

· 6 small onions, quartered

· 4 garlic cloves, peeled, whole

· 400 g button mushrooms, halved

· 20 g dried porcini mushroom

· 4 carrots – cut into bite size chunks

· 1 red pepper – cut into chunks

· ½ to 1 cup cooked chestnuts, chopped in two

· 2 Tbsp tomato paste

· 2 Tbsp tamari soya sauce

· 1 cup of red wine

· ½ litre soaking water from the porcini

· 2 bay leaves

· A few sprigs of thyme

· 3 Tbsp wholewheat flour

· ½ tsp ground black pepper

· A handful of fresh parsley, chopped

· salt and pepper to season, to taste

· ½ litre of water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. You will need a ‘Dutch Oven’ or large Pyrex dish with a lid to place into the oven.

2. If you have time, marinate the onion and carrots for a few hours or overnight in the fridge. Marinate in the cup of wine, the water, the tamari, the thyme, and the bay leaves.

3. Soak the dried porcini in 500ml of hot water, set aside

4. In a frying pan lightly separately fry the onion, the pepper and the mushrooms for a few minutes in a drop of oil, to braise the surface. Transfer back to the water and wine broth.

5. Then do the same with the carrots. Before transferring the carrots to the broth, sprinkle the flour over them and mix well to avoid lumps then mix it all into the broth.

6. Finally add the tomato paste and the chestnuts, mix it all well and place into a hot oven 200C to cook covered for 30 minutes, then uncovered for another 15 minutes. You want to make sure the onion and carrots are cooked and the sauce has thickened a bit.

7. If it is too dry add a little water so there is a sauce with the vegetables. If too runny you can add a tsp of cornflour pre-mixed in a little water.

Serve over piping hot mashed potatoes and some freshly chopped parsley.

https://www.clare.fm/featured-2/taste-week-veganism-veganuary/