Heidi Swanson’s Paprika-Spiced Mushroom Stew. Photography courtesy Hardie Grant. With a slew of long weekends approaching, now is the time to indulge in either your love of cooking or your love of eating. These autumnal recipes are perfect for enjoying the fresh produce of the season and for feeding a hungry crowd.
“[This] stew is hearty, satisfying, simple and adaptable. For example, if you didn’t have rice on hand, swapping in thick noodles would also be brilliant. If you feel like you haven’t had any greens for the day, add a big handful of chopped kale.” – Heidi Swanson
This recipe is adapted from Swanson’s cookbook “Super Natural Simple: Whole-Food, Vegetarian Recipes for Real Life“. Read our full interview with the San Francisco-based author and photographer here.
Paprika-Spiced Mushroom Stew
Serves 6
3 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
450g mushrooms (mix or single type of preference), chopped in 5mm – 1 cm pieces
1 ½ large brown onions, diced
1 ¼ tsps fine-grain sea salt, plus more to taste
1 tbsp smoked paprika
720ml water
240ml well-mixed, full-fat coconut milk
juice of 1 lemon
740g cooked brown rice, warm
Plain Greek yoghurt and chopped fresh dill, to serve (optional)
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium– high heat. Add the mushrooms, onion and salt and sauté, stirring now and then, until the mushrooms release their liquid and it evaporates, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the paprika and cook for another minute. Add the water and coconut milk, bring to a simmer and cook for three minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, then taste and add more salt as needed.
Scoop the rice into bowls and ladle the soup over the top. A big dollop of yoghurt, lots of dill and cherry tomatoes to serve are all bonuses. You could also add a few big handfuls of chopped or shredded cabbage to the pot after cooking the mushrooms but before adding the spices and broth. For less fat but the same amount of creamy, replace the coconut milk with cashew milk. To make fresh cashew milk, combine 155g raw cashews with 475ml water in a high-speed blender and purée until silky smooth.
“This dish is 30 minutes start to finish and not expensive to make at home. It’s garnished with corn chips (who doesn’t love that) and it makes heaps, so you can roll it into a burrito for the next day or even make it into a dip. It’s really delicious.” – Shannon Martinez
This recipe is adapted from Martinez’ cookbook “Vegan with Bite“. Read our full interview with the Melbourne-based chef here.
One-Pot Burrito Rice
Serves 4–6
3 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
½ red capsicum, seeded and diced
½ green capsicum, seeded and diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
450g veggie mince or soaked textured vegetable protein
1 tsp chilli powder, or to taste
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 × 400g tin diced tomatoes
300g (1½ cups) long-grain rice
150g (1 cup) frozen corn kernels
1 × 400g tin black beans, drained and rinsed
625ml (2½ cups) beef or vegetable stock
3 spring onions (scallions), sliced, plus extra to serve
250g shredded vegan cheese
Sliced avocado
Chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves and lime wedges, to serve
Heat the oil in a wide shallow saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion, capsicums and a big pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the mince or textured vegetable protein and fry, breaking it up into small bits if using veggie mince. Add the ground spices and oregano and cook for 30 seconds, then stir through the diced tomatoes and cook over a medium–low heat for 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat in the spiced tomato mixture, then add the corn and black beans.
Pour over the stock and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cook, covered, for 20–25 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed.
Remove the lid and stir through the spring onion and half the cheese. Shake the pan to even out the rice, then sprinkle over the remaining cheese. Cover with the lid once again and leave for 1 minute to melt the cheese.
Finish with the avocado, coriander and extra spring onion and serve with lime wedges. If you really want to go all out, add some corn chips and a drizzle of hot sauce.
“Why over complicate things in life? This is one way you can reuse a pre-made granola or use this as an excuse to simply mix some yourself. Plus, it’s one of the easiest desserts you can make and is perfect for a dinner party.” – Dan Churchill
Read our interview with the New York-based, Masterchef alumni here.
Super Easy Blueberry One-Pan Crumble
500g frozen blueberries
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp your favourite oil
Crumble
1 ½ cups oats
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp honey
¼ cup coconut, shredded
Pinch of salt
Preheat your oven to 200C. For the crumble, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and spread out evenly onto a lined baking tray. Cook in the oven for 18-22 minutes, mixing every 7 minutes, until golden.
For the filling add your blueberries, honey and oil into a pan on medium heat and cook until juices are flowing and its getting bubbly and jammy (about 7-9 minutes).
Sprinkle the topping mixture over the filling and if you’re feeling super epic, spoon over some vanilla ice cream, or natural or coconut yoghurt.
