Being a vegetarian mum with a vegetarian family means that I am always on the look-out for family friendly recipes that everyone will love. One of my favourite ingredients to use is mushrooms. They are quick to cook, simple to prepare, very versatile, tasty and add a 'meaty' texture to meals.
We have been challenged by the Mushroom Bureau to make a recipe for a tasty family meal, which incorporates cooking with mushrooms. I chose to make a Creamy Mushroom & Parsnip Bake.
Ingredients
450g parsnips cooked and drained
8 teaspoons oil
1 onion chopped
2 tablespoons fresh coriander chopped
2 small beaten eggs
3 tablespoons double cream (I used soy cream)
ground pepper
275g open cup mushrooms sliced
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
8 slices brown bread crusts removed
margarine
Method
Blend the cooked parsnips in food processor until smooth.
Heat 2 teaspns of oil in pan and fry onion.
Turn into processor with with parsnips, coriander, eggs, cream and seasoning and blend until smooth.
Heat the remaining oil and cook mushrooms and cumin seeds for 5 minutes until moisture evaporates.
Spread the margarine on the bread and cut into triangles.
Oil 4 300ml ovenproof dishes and line each with four triangles of bread.
Spoon on parsnip mixture, then some mushrooms in layers.
Repeat, ending with mushrooms on top.
Bake at 190 degrees for about 30 minutes.
The Parsnip and Mushroom Bake was absolutely delicious and perfect dish for the summer. It had a similar texture to a quiche or a souffle with layers of lovely chunky mushrooms, seasoned with cumin, running through it. The wholemeal bread base held the bake together and made a nice change from pastry, and added fibre to the dish.
It is a very quick and easy dish to make. The sweet parsnip cooks quickly and makes a lovely creamy puree, which is the basis for this recipe. The mushrooms fry up in minutes too.
The kids enjoyed the Parsnip and Mushroom Bake very much. The sweetness made it very kid friendly, and as my family all love mushrooms we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner. Serving with baked beans made it an extremely easy meal to put together, giving us at least two of our five a day. The bread base and the parsnip was sufficient carbohydrate, so we didn't need a portion of potatoes on the side as well.
This is definitely a recipe I will use again. Instead of making individual portions, I think I'd make a family sized one and cut it into slices. I might also experiment and use sweet potatoes in place of the parsnip and use chestnut mushrooms in place of open cup.
Finding family friendly recipes like this one, is a great way to get extra vegetables into the children's diets. Introducing children to a wide variety of vegetables is the best way to encourage them to eat their five a day and nurture a life long love of veggies.
Mushrooms are a great source of B vitamins, antioxidants and minerals, plus they are fat free, low in calories, cholesterol free and gluten free. They can be added to everyday dishes or served as a side dish, they can be stuffed or made into a delicious pate for sandwiches. They really are versatile, which is why they are on my shopping list every week!
www.justaddmushrooms.com
Check out the Twitter feed @moretomushrooms using the hashtag #mushroommeals for some mushroom inspiration!
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