Mushroom and Chestnut Ragoût with Potato and Celeriac Mash

Mushrooms are big around here. Well, actually, they're fairly small, the main type grown is the Paris white, known in NZ as the button mushroom. This isn't Paris so I don't know how they got that name (though I'm sure I will once I finally visit the mushroom museum) but I do know that this town /area produces 90% of France's button mushrooms.  

And are there button mushrooms in this recipe? Only if you want there to be. The recipe calls for portobello and dried porcini mushrooms but I used a mix of varieties I don't even know the names of. I just buy them at the market from the mushroom lady. So feel free, as ever, to adapt this recipe to your tastes. I reduced the cream (it called for 5 T, I felt that was too much and I think it could be lovely without any, too). Also, I had no sherry so used balsamic vinegar which I added a tiny bit at a time, tasting until I got it right. The other thing I didn't have was sweet potatoes / kumara so I made a mash using potatoes and celeriac, an idea I'd got from my husband's guy friends who cooked delicious dishes for their New Year's Party - to my surprise as I think a bunch of mates from an agricultural college in NZ probably wouldn't be so gourmet - at least not cooking for each other at a party. But that's the French for you. And of course their mash had heaps of butter. So you could follow suit and go crazy with the butter if you hold back on the cream in the ragout. But the ragout is very rich so don't over-do both!

I'm not sure what you could replace chestnuts with if you can't find any. In Australia I found them for sale in cans. Chestnuts are lovely with their distinct sweet and savoury taste and firm and sort of buttery texture. Perhaps soaked cashews could work? Other ideas?

Mushroom and Chestnut Ragoût Potato and Celeriac Mash

Recipe comes from the 'Simmer' section (so DO, don't rush it!) of the cookbook 'New Vegetarian Kitchen' by Nicola Graimes (UK book).

Serves 4

40g / 1¼ oz dried porcini mushrooms

3 T olive oil

40g / 1½ oz butter

350g / 12 oz shallots, peeled and halved with the base intact, or quartered if large

500g / 1 lb 2 oz portobello mushrooms, thickly sliced

2 tsp dried thyme

125ml / 4fl oz / ½ cup dry sherry (or an alternative. I used 2+ T balsamic vinegar)

250g / 9 oz cooked chestnuts, thickly sliced

2 Tbsp light soy sauce

a few splashes of hot pepper sauce

2-5 Tbsp double cream

leaves from a few parsley sprigs, chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

500 g potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks

400 g celeriac, peeled and chopped into large chunks

(or replace potatoes and celeriac with 900g of kumara / sweet potato)

2 large garlic cloves

150 ml / 5 fl oz / scant ⅔ c milk

30 g / 1 oz butter

1 Soak the porcini mushrooms in 150 ml / 5 fl oz / scant ⅔ c boiled water for 20 mins until softened.

2 Heat the olive oil and butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium-low heat and cook the shallots for 12 minutes, stirring regularly, until softened and golden in places. Add the portobello mushrooms and cook for another 4-5 minutes until tender.

3 Strain the porcini mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid, and add them to the pan, along with the thyme and sherry. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half and there is no aroma of alcohol.

4 Add the prcini soaking liquid, chestnuts, soy sauce and hot pepper sauce and simmer for 10-15 minutes until reduced by half. Stir in the cream and heat through gently, then season with salt and pepper.

5 Meanwhile, make the mash. Cook the vegetables (potato and celeriac, or sweet potato) and garlic in boiling salted water for 10 minutes or until tender, then drain and return to the pan. Add the milk and butter, season well with salt and pepper and warm through (or better yet, warm milk and butter before adding - but this makes more dishes). Mash until smooth, then cover with a lid to keep warm.

6 Sprinkle the ragout with parsley and serve with the mash/puree