Рецепт Mediterranean Vegetable Stroganoff with Broccoli, Carrots, Mushrooms and Leeks
When my oldest daughter Emily was not yet a year old, I enrolled her in Mother’s Day out program. She got to socialize a bit with others and I had a morning each week for myself. The added benefit was meeting other moms of young children and I made some great friendships from that experience. One of the best was with my friend Joyce. Bonded initially because we had both named our daughter’s Emily, we soon discovered that we also shared a love of reading and cooking and over the course of the years that we lived in the same town, we often got together to share food, fellowship and recipes. Our children were best of friends too; the Emily’s got along great and we both eventually had another girl and we surely anticipated that Lauren and Kate would follow suit.
As often happens when young families are in transition though; Joyce and her husband Brian moving to New York state; we moved to Colorado and somehow our long distance relationship eventually waned. Yet…I never forgot Joyce; we had a special friendship at a very special time in our lives as we were building our families and not a year went by that I didn’t think of her. Earlier this year I made a recipe of Joyce’s and thought to try and find her through the magic of the Internet and I was saddened to hear that she had passed away; she was far too young. I remember so fondly what a wonderful sweet friend she was and of her girls, without their mom, and my intent was to try and touch base.
Then a decision was made to move and life got a bit crazy. On the day my house sold we found out my youngest daughter had breast cancer and well, you can imagine, those plans were soon forgotten as I spent every waking moment immersed in the details of my own life. Packing, moving, chemo, more packing, wigs, etc.
The good news is that 4 months later some of the flux in our lives is more in control. Lauren has finished chemo and her lump is gone. Beyond huge sigh of relief. She will still undergo surgery to scrape the cells in that area and have the proscribed radiation but the gut wrenching fear that permeated my everyday is gone and I think we’re all starting to breathe easier. With only 4 weeks to pack and move, I decided to move in with some friends in lieu of rushing to find a new home and I’m SO excited that I’ve signed on the dotted line last week for a home I know will be just perfect for me. A big ranch with great light and a ‘flex’ room next to the kitchen that I’ll use for food photography. It’s a new build which I love so fingers crossed it will be on schedule and ready for move in by Thanksgiving. To say that I am weary of cooking in one place and having to pack all my gear and food to drive to another place to take photos would be an understatement! Walking into the room next to the kitchen for photos? Priceless!
During the process of packing for all of these changes, I came across a binder with a lot of written recipes and one of them was for this Mediterranean Stroganoff that was a favorite that Joyce had made for us one evening when we were at their home for dinner. I’m so glad I still have the original recipe from her; even though it’s in my handwriting, I remember her giving me the paper and writing it at her kitchen table (in the olden days before the Internet or blogs; this is how we shared!). Isn’t it amazing how one small thing can bring such a flood of memories? It’s funny too that I recall loving it but not making it often since it seemed to take a lot of time. I did not have a Cuisinart when my children were small…it is amazing the quick work it made of slicing mushrooms, leek and carrots…it didn’t seem time consuming at all. What I was curious to see was if my more mature palate would love it as much as my memory did.
If possible I think I loved it more; all fresh veggies from the farmers market makes it a great summer dish and of course a Sherry cream sauce served over that pretty rice doesn’t hurt. The rice adds a great bit of color but I took a guess with the amount of turmeric and I can’t say it had much flavor. That’s OK; the sauce is so flavorful that I think just coloring the rice is enough; I wouldn’t want another flavor component to change one thing. Like other really great dishes, it’s not the prettiest girl on the block but it’s got great heart and you will love her!
This dish is in memory of my friend Joyce, a wonderful friend that was in my life at such a sweet time…you will never be forgotten. Joyce was so caring and full of life; she would not want a morose memory but one that is a reminder of those wonderful times and that is what I will remember every time I prepare this delicious dish. Here’s to you Joyce!
Mediterranean Stroganoff
Ingredients
- 3 c. broccoli, bite size
- 4 medium carrots, thinly sliced
- 1/4 c. butter
- 1 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 1 medium leek or 3-4 green onions, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3 Tbsp. regular or gluten free flour
- 2 c. half and half
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tsp. bouillon or 1 cube (vegetable or chicken)
- 1/2 c. dry sherry or white wine
- 1/2 c. sliced ripe olives
- 1 c. sour cream
- 1 c. ricotta
- 1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan
- For Turmeric Rice:
- 2 cups rice
- 4 cups water
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp chicken or vegetable bouillon
Preparation
Cook broccoli and carrots in boiling, salted water for 5 minutes or until crisp and tender. Drain.
Melt butter and sauté mushrooms, leeks and garlic until mushrooms in butter until mushrooms are just tender.
Blend in flour. Stir in cream, soy and bouillon. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
Add drained veggies, wine and olives. In small bowl, combine sour cream, ricotta and Parmesan. Gradually stir 1 cup hot mixture into cheese and then return to pan. Cook 3 to 4 minutes until heated. DO NOT BOIL!
Prepare rice per package directions; adding turmeric and bouillon to water.
Serve stroganoff mixture over turmeric rice.
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http://www.creative-culinary.com/mediterranean-stroganoff/
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