Farmer's Mushroom Stroganoff
Dried mushrooms, egg noodles, and powdered cream cheese in one pot. Beef stroganoff with the beef left home.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 124
- protein
- 18 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 25 min
- water
- 700 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried oyster mushrooms | 1 1/2 oz | about 2 cups loose; shiitake works too |
|---|---|---|
| Egg noodles | 6 oz | the thin ones cook in 6 minutes |
| Freeze-dried onion | 3 tbsp | |
| Freeze-dried shallot or more onion | 1 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Tomato paste | 1 tbsp | the squeeze tube keeps for weeks unrefrigerated |
| All-purpose flour | 2 tbsp | |
| Vegetable bouillon | 1 cube | |
| Powdered cream cheese | 1/3 cup | sold as a dip base; sour cream powder also works |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Dijon mustard | 1 tsp | a takeout packet |
| Worcestershire sauce | 1 tsp | small dropper bottle |
| Salt and pepper | to taste | |
| Dried parsley | 1 tsp |
Method
- Cover the dried mushrooms with 250 ml of hot water and leave them 10 minutes. Keep the soaking water.
- Boil 450 ml of water in the pot. Cook the noodles until just soft, then drain off all but a splash. Set the noodles aside in your mug or a bag.
- Wipe the pot, add the oil, and warm the mushrooms with the onion, shallot, and garlic powder. Let the water cook off and the edges brown.
- Stir in the tomato paste and flour and cook one minute so the flour loses its raw taste.
- Pour in the mushroom soaking water and crumble in the bouillon. Simmer until it thickens, two or three minutes.
- Off the heat, stir in the cream cheese powder, mustard, and Worcestershire. Add water a splash at a time if it stiffens.
- Fold the noodles back in. Salt, pepper, parsley.
The original is a cast iron dish with two pounds of fresh mushrooms, a cup of mascarpone, and a half cup of red wine. None of that travels. Dried mushrooms lose the water weight and gain concentration, and the soaking liquid replaces the veggie broth, so nothing is wasted. Powdered cream cheese does what the mascarpone did without a cooler.
The flour matters. Without it the sauce is mushroom water with dairy floating in it. Cook it in the oil for a minute before any liquid goes in, or the whole pot tastes like paste. Draining the noodles first is the only fussy part, and it is worth it: noodles cooked in the sauce release enough starch to turn the whole thing into glue.
Packing
Mushrooms in their own bag so they stay dry. Onion, garlic, flour, bouillon, and parsley premix into one bag. Cream cheese powder rides separately since it goes in last and off the heat.
Variations
- Skip the separate noodle boil and cook everything together in 700 ml if you don't mind a starchier, looser sauce.
- Instant mashed potato flakes in place of noodles makes it gluten-free and faster.
- A splash of red wine from a plastic flask if you're car camping.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/mushroom-farmer-stroganoff