The year is galloping towards Christmas and I still have much to do. Some of which means making sure that anyone who doesn’t wish to eat meat has something good to tuck into. This year on my Christmas table it’s a mushroom “bourguignon”, thick with all manner of mushrooms amid a cloud of butternut mash.
A few coriander seeds aside, I have kept the flavours bosky and herbal with rosemary, thyme and coriander seed, and thrown in a very large glass of pinot noir. Golden, slightly boozy, it has Christmas written all over it.
While I was at it, I made an aubergine dish vaguely in the style of a cassoulet. The aubergines were sliced from stem to tip to keep them thick and juicy, browned then tucked among the beans, onions and herbs, and cooked slowly in a deep casserole.
Two recipes for a cold winter night that, in my house, will be coming out for Christmas, too.
Aubergine ‘cassoulet’
Unusually in one my recipes, I have used a tiny squirt of tomato purée. It is not an ingredient I use very much, as it can have something of the school bully about it, but occasionally it is appropriate, as, I think, in this recipe.
Serves 4-6
aubergines 2
olive oil
onions 2
garlic 3 cloves
tomatoes 250g
bay leaves 2
thyme 4 sprigs
rosemary 3 sprigs
tomato purée a little
haricot beans 2 x 400g cans
vegetable stock 250ml
For the crust:
white bread 120g
thyme leaves 1 tbsp
olive oil
Discard the stems from the aubergines, then slice each one in half lengthways, then in half again. Warm 3 or 4 tbsp of oil in a deep, heavy-based casserole, then fry the aubergines in the oil until they are soft and nicely golden brown on their cut sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Peel the onions, roughly chop them, then let them cook in the same pan, adding more oil if necessary, for 10-15 minutes, until soft and pale honey-coloured. Peel and thinly slice the garlic, stir into the onion as it cooks. Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6.
Roughly chop the tomatoes and add to the onions, together with the bay leaves, whole sprigs of thyme and rosemary. Stir in the tomato purée, continue cooking for 5 minutes, then tip in the haricot beans, drained and rinsed, the aubergines, a generous seasoning of salt and black pepper and the vegetable stock. Partially cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Reduce the bread to coarse crumbs in a food processor then add the thyme leaves, process briefly, then scatter over the surface of the bean and aubergine mixture.
Shake enough olive oil over the crumbs to lightly saturate them then bake for 25-30 minutes until the crumb crust is crisp and the cassoulet is bubbling around the edges.
Mushroom ‘bourguignon’
I like to add a little triangle of fried bread to each portion dipped in chopped parsley, as a nod to the original boeuf bourguignon. Steaming, rather than boiling, the butternut will produce a drier, more fluffy mash.
Serves 4
For the marinade:
brown chestnut mushrooms 250g
king oysters mushrooms 250g
button mushrooms 250g
coriander seeds 1 tsp
black peppercorns 2 tsp
bay leaves 3
thyme 6 sprigs
rosemary 2 sprigs
burgundy pinot noir
onions 2
olive oil
garlic cloves 3
small carrots 2
shallots 8 small ones
tomato purée 2 tsp
plain flour 2 tbsp
red wine 250ml
vegetable stock 250ml
sugar a pinch or two (optional)
balsamic vinegar 1 tsp
For the mash:
butternut squash 2
butter 50g
Slice the largest, thick-stemmed mushrooms into pieces the thickness of a pound coin, then put them in a large mixing bowl. Quarter the chestnut mushrooms, and add them with the whole button mushrooms to the bowl.
Crack the coriander seeds and peppercorns using a pestle and mortar, or grind them coarsely in a spice mill. Tuck the bay leaves, thyme sprigs and rosemary among the mushrooms and add the ground coriander seeds. Pour the red wine over the mushrooms, cover with a lid or clingfilm, then leave for an hour to marinate.
Peel the onions, cut them in half, then slice each half into six segments. Put a couple of tablespoons of the olive oil into a deep, heavy-based casserole then add the onions and let them cook over a moderate heat, stirring from time to time, until they are soft and golden (15-20 minutes).
Peel and thinly slice the garlic then stir into the onions. Scrub the carrots, cut them into small dice, then stir into the softening onions and garlic. Peel the shallots, leave them whole and add them to the onions.
Stir the tomato purée into the onions and leave to cook, with the occasional stir, for 5 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the bowl and let them cook with the onions. The mixture should be gold and brown.
Scatter the flour over the surface and stir in, let it cook for a couple of minutes then pour in the red wine and stock, mix well but gently (don’t break up the mushrooms) then bring to the boil. Season with salt and pepper and leave to simmer gently for about 20 minutes till all is dark, rich and woodsy. Use a pinch or two of sugar and a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar to correct the seasoning.
To make the mash, peel and roughly chop the butternut squash and steam over boiling water for 20 minutes or so till tender. Add the butter and crush using a potato masher or fork till light and fluffy. Serve with the mushrooms.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk. Follow Nigel on Twitter @NigelSlater