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Tocăniță de ciuperci
Romanian mushroom stew with wine, tomato and thyme
Tocăniță is the everyday stew of Romanian home cooking, and the mushroom version is a fixture of the Orthodox fasting days, when Transylvanian cooks use forest mushrooms gathered in the Apuseni hills and city cooks use button mushrooms from the market. Onions, garlic, tomato, white wine and thyme cook down into a thick, glossy sauce, without the sour cream and paprika of a Hungarian paprikás. It is always eaten with hot mămăligă and a spoon of the sauce over the top. Chef's tip: brown the mushrooms in batches in a hot pan; crowding them is the usual mistake, and they then stew grey in their own water instead of turning golden.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Heat half of 4 tbsp sunflower oil in a wide pan over a high heat. Add half of 1 ¾ lb mixed mushrooms in one layer and fry, without stirring for the first 2 minutes, until golden; tip out and repeat with the rest of the oil and mushrooms.
12 minStep 2: Lower the heat to medium, add 2 onions to the empty pan with a pinch of the salt and cook until soft and light gold.
8 minStep 3: Add 4 garlic cloves and 1 tsp dried thyme and stir for 1 minute until fragrant, then pour in ½ cup dry white wine and let it bubble until the smell of alcohol fades and it has almost gone.
3 minStep 4: Return the mushrooms with 14 oz chopped tomatoes, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1 bay leaf, the rest of 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper. Simmer on a low heat, half covered, stirring now and then, until the sauce is thick and clings to the mushrooms.
15 minStep 5: Remove the bay leaf, stir in 3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley and serve hot with mămăligă.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 170 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 13 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tocăniță de ciuperci take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of mixed mushrooms?
- Aubergine, diced, same weight.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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