Friendz of Hot Knives: October 2007 Archives

Every so often we like to turn over the blog buttons to friends who have a kitchen secret or a standout recipe. The latest comes from Portland natives and recent restaurateurs Ali and Evan. We’ve known them for years and highly recommend peeps check out their new peppermint dreamboat of a shop, the Little Red Bike Café. Hit up their bike-thru window for vegan ice cream, get jacked on Courier Coffee and savory bread puddings, or just dribble at their high-res food porn. When you go, just promise you'll smack 'em one for Hot Knives for putting so much bacon on their menu! Take it away Ali and Evan...

So, we’ve got a problem. A real bad problem. But you know what they say; admitting is the first step. So here it goes. For quite some time now we have been…sigh…addicted to mushrooms. Yes, it’s true. Button, Morel, Shitake, Lobster, Porcini, Trumpet, Chanterelle. You name it we’ll eat it. Traces of the addiction can be found throughout both sides of the family so it’s really no surprise that we wound up like this. That said, when fall time hits and we’re itching for a fix we know who to call. We have a dealer, I mean friend, we’ll call him “Todd,” that has a nasty habit of uh…illegally foraging wild forest mushrooms. In our fungus-induced haze, we aid in the smuggling by providing the “mule”, our beloved Le Creuset soup kettle. Yes, fall time is when our addiction is at its peak and it means three things in our household: wood burning fires, lots o’ red wine and soup. Here’s how it all goes down…

Vegan Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
1 lb. mushrooms, sliced (any mushroom will do but we particularly love chanterelles with this recipe)
1 1/2 tsp dill weed
1 Tbsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 tsp caraway seeds
4 garlic cloves, coarsely minced
3 Tbsp tamari
2 cups vegetable stock (Imagine’s Organic No-Chicken Broth)
2 Tbsp vegan margarine
3 Tbsp flour
1 cup soymilk/soy creamer
2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2-3 Tbsp red wine
Fresh cracked pepper

1. In a soup pot, sauté onion in oil until soft, about 5 minutes

2. Add mushrooms, dill, paprika, caraway, paprika, and cayenne then saute for 5 minutes. Add 2 Tbsp of the tamari and stock, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. While soup simmers, melt the margarine in a separate saucepan and add the flour. Cook one minute, stirring constantly, then whisk in the soymilk/creamer ‘til smooth.

4. Once smooth and simmer roux (yes that’s right you just made a vegan roux) over low heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened.

5. Once thick, whisk in the last Tbsp of tamari and then transfer to the mushroom mixture and stir in. Add garlic. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

6. Just before serving stir in the lemon juice and red wine, finish off with cracked pepper.

Beverage: Cedar Creek pinot noir (OR bitchez!)
Soundtrack: Gotan Project’s La Revancha del Tango