Lion's Mane Gumbo
Let me start by saying: we are big fans of Cajun food in the Bell household. After hearing that a regular market customer of ours made vegetarian gumbo soup using Lion's Mane mushrooms - I was intrigued at how I could incorporate the mushrooms into my own dish.Always up for a culinary challenge, I decided to attempt my own (non-vegetarian) gumbo using this unexpected ingredient.
Ingredients
- 1 quart spicy homemade tomato sauce (see my post from yesterday!)
- 1 package Johnsonville New Orleans Sausage
- 1 lb cooked, boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I like to cook these separately in my Instant Pot), chopped
- 1 quart Prayer Mountain Farms Lion's Mane Mushrooms brushed off with a lightly damp cloth
- 2 stalks celery
- 1/2 medium onion
- 1 large green bell pepper
- 1 T. Cajun seasoning (or more, to taste - we usually end up with about 2 T.)
- 3 T. butter
- 1 cup brown rice
- 2 cups chicken broth
Instructions
- In a small pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add the rice,wait until the pot comes back to a gentle simmer - then reduce the heat to low,and cover. No peeking! Set a timer for 25 minutes.
- Begin by heating a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, and then chop the onion, celery, and bell pepper into a medium dice. Add the chopped veg to the skillet, and stir occasionally until the vegetables begin to soften and the onion turns translucent.
- While the vegetables are cooking, slice the sausage into medium-sized chunks. You can even cut these on the diagonal to make them look fancy. When the vegetables are finished cooking, remove to a plate and set aside.
- Drop the cut sausages into the same skillet, and let them start to get a little bit of color. When they start to turn a very light brown,push them to one side and add the butter to the skillet. Tear (by hand)the Lion's Mane mushrooms into large chunks, and let them start to get golden in the butter - but don't forget to turn the sausages on the other side of the skillet! Once the mushrooms are turning light brown, sprinkle the flour (or other thickener of choice) on the sausages and mushrooms, stirring frequently. Add the chicken, and the other veg back to the skillet,and stir to combine. Next, add the quart of homemade spicy tomato sauce and the Cajun seasoning. Reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally.
- When the timer goes off, check the rice. Give it a quick stir and you're ready to assemble and eat! Place a scoop of rice in the bottom of a bowl, and then top with the gumbo.
Notes
*The homemade tomato sauce I used here is much thicker and richer than canned tomato sauce from the store. If you don't use the recipe post from yesterday, you may need to tinker with adding some extra thickening such as additional flour/butter or even cornstarch
*You will note I also didn't add any additional spicy peppers in this recipe. This is because the sauce I made already had the Cajun Belle cooked in. Feel free to spice it up as you see fit! I would add any additional spicy peppers to the celery/onion/green bell pepper mixture at the beginning, and/or sprinkle on top to finish the dish
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This needs a roux to be considered gumbo. This recipe is really just a stew. What makes it a gumbo is the roux: about 3/4 cup vegan butter melted with 1 cup flour mixed in the skillet until turned dark, dark brown. This is the mother of the gumbo. Just incorporate this roux and then you will have a true Gumbo!