Mushroom and Lentil Ragu with Parsnip Mash

To start the year of 2023 here in the Good Eatings recipe bank I am bringing you a winter warming ragu with mushrooms and lentils. A whole food match made in food heaven when cooked in a flavourful gravy and served over luscious mash. The mash I propose is not just regular old potato mash (even though we definitely love that too over here) but a mash made with parsnips primarily and potatoes as a supporting act. This results in a flavourful mash with a complexity that pairs very well with the savoury ragu. Finish it off with some crunchy walnuts and you have a very satisfying winter dinner ready to enjoy!

Malin x

Mushroom and Lentil Ragu with Parsnip Mash

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

For the ragu:

450 g chestnut mushrooms

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large shallot

4 garlic cloves

1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

1 tsp dried thyme

3 tbsp tomato paste

1-2 tsp sambal oelek, optional

0,5 cup red wine

1,5 cups water

1 tbsp vegetable stock powder (or 1 vegetable stock cube)

1 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari)

1 tbsp white miso paste

2 tbsp corn starch

1,5 cup cooked beluga lentils (or green or brown)

Salt and black pepper, to taste

For the mash:

600 g parsnips

400 g potatoes

3 tbsp vegan butter

0,5 cup unsweetened soy milk

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Serve with:

Green salad

Walnut pieces

METHOD:

Peel the parsnips and potatoes and cut them into chunks. The parsnip pieces should be roughly double the size of the potato chunks. Transfer to a pot and cover with water by about an inch. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Turn down to a less violent boil and cook until tender, somewhere between 12-16 minutes should do it.

Once tender take the pot off the heat and drain the water. Leave the drained vegetables covered in the pot while you finish the ragu as you will finish the mash once the ragu is in its finishing stages.

Clean and slice the mushrooms into bite sized pieces. I like to slice and chop them into different shapes for more interesting texture differences in the finished ragu.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and then add the mushrooms. Sauté them until golden, moving them around once in a while. This will take anywhere between 5-10 minutes depending on how much liquid is in the mushrooms.

In the meantime finely chop the shallot and garlic. Once the mushrooms are golden add the shallots and garlic to the pan. Also sprinkle in the chopped rosemary and dried thyme. Mix the aromatics through the mushrooms well and sauté for another couple of minutes until fragrant.

Next add in the tomato paste and stir through the mushrooms. Cook it off for another couple of minutes to remove the raw tomato flavour and then add the sambal oelek and red wine. Cook this off on a low heat until the liquid has halved in volume.

While the wine is reducing prepare a slurry by mixing the water, vegetable stock powder, soy sauce, miso paste and corn starch together until no lumps are visible. I like to use a whisk and a pitcher to do this.

When the wine is reduced to half pour over the slurry and bring the liquid to a boil while gently stirring. Turn down to a simmer for 3-4 minutes allowing the gravy to thicken.

Finally add in the cooked lentils when the sauce has thickened to a nice gravy consistency. Stir them through and leave the ragu cooking on the lowest heat while you finish the mash.

Add the vegan butter and soy milk to the still warm parsnips and potatoes. Season generously with salt and add black pepper to taste. Mash the vegetables with your chosen mashing utensil until you reach a consistency you enjoy. I leave mine a little lumpy but you could go for completely smooth if you prefer.

Serve the ragu over a bed of the mash and finish with some walnut pieces for crunch, if you wish. I also like to serve this dish with a fresh green salad* on the side for some contrast.

*Try this shaved asparagus and gem lettuce salad or this fennel and cucumber salad.