According to the International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management, overwhelming scientific evidence shows that two sources of consumption are the greatest causes of global biodiversity loss, water overuse, toxic emissions, and climate change, which cumulatively pose a threat to life as we know it for our children’s future. One source of consumption is the use of fossil fuels for heating, transportation, materials production, and the production and use of electrical appliances. Of comparable importance is agriculture, particularly animal industries. In this series, the Habanero presents climate-friendly recipes that are also healthy.
This recipe is based on a traditional variant of Russian stewed mushrooms, adapted to be more friendly to a US palette. Mushrooms are a staple of Russian cooking, combined in this recipe with the bittersweet flavor of caraway. To make it more “Russian,” you could finish the dish off with a garnish of fresh dill or parsley. These herbs, however, can overwhelm the dish if you are not accustomed to them. Hemp powder is used as a sauce thickener and to add protein. Our test kitchen served this up with grits, substituting for the traditional Russian accompaniment of potato, and our tasters found grits to be an interesting and regionally attractive alternative.
Snack anyone? Russians know a thing or two about good food. Source: Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty
Ingredients (makes four servings, approximately 35 minutes prep time)
- 4 shallots, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound mushrooms, halved or in thick slices; white button mushrooms or Swiss brown mushrooms both work well
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of caraway seeds (1 tablespoon gives a much stronger taste)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 4 tablespoons hemp powder (50% protein grade, available at most grocers)
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce substitute (equal parts ketchup, white vinegar, and soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon mustard, whichever kind you prefer, we used Dijon
- 1 tablespoon red wine or red wine vinegar
- 1 cup non-dairy milk, barista style (creamy) non-sweet soy milk works best; can use non-dairy sour cream for more richness and bite
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup quick grits
There has been a revival of interest in mushrooms because they are flavorful and healthy, see, for instance, this article in Time Magazine. Source: Mushroom Revival
Cooking Method
- Add the hemp powder to the vegetable stock, mix well to ensure there are no lumps, and set aside.
- To make this dish healthier, grill the shallot and mushrooms without oil. Place the shallot and mushrooms in a non-stick or cast iron skillet and bring to a medium/medium-high heat (varies according to how hot your stove runs), pressing firmly with a spatula, and rotating frequently to achieve a grill effect instead of burning. If the mixture begins to dry out, add a small amount of water to deglaze the pan.
- When the shallots begin to be translucent and the mushrooms golden, add the garlic and stir briefly. Then add paprikas, caraway seeds, and tomato paste, stirring and cooking for a further minute or so to blend and release the aromaticity of the spices.
- Add the hemp powder/vegetable stock mixture and stir well. Then add Worcestershire sauce substitute, wine/wine vinegar, and mustard. Simmer covered over low heat for about 20 minutes.
- While waiting for the stewed mushrooms to finish, make the grits. Follow the directions on the quick grits package. For more colorful grits you can add ¼ teaspoon of turmeric, which will not affect the flavor greatly.
- After cooking the mushrooms for 20 minutes, the stew should be reasonably thick. If not, cook uncovered until thick. Add the non-dairy milk, stirring rapidly as you add it to prevent separation. Remove from heat, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Plate up a serving of quick grits and top with a serving of stewed mushrooms. Optionally garnish with a small amount of chopped parsley or fresh dill sprigs if you have them and prefer this taste.
Hemp as a food product has very unusual characteristics, both for protein and as a source of healthy fats; look for a feature on hemp in a Habanero post coming to you soon. Source: Nuts.com
How Does this Main Course Stack Up?
According to countless websites and common knowledge, the most popular main course in the US is the hamburger. In the table below, we compared the major nutritional components and carbon footprint of the Russian-style Stewed Mushrooms and Grits to one of the more popular burgers on the market. The comparison hamburger has over three times the calories, sixteen times the fat, the same amount of carbohydrates, and only one-fifth the fiber (a healthy and calorie-free fraction of carbohydrates that is known to fight diabetes). Meanwhile, the hamburger has over one-half the US Food and Drug Administration’s maximum limit of daily cholesterol intake, whereas this climate-friendly meal has zero cholesterol. Eating this hamburger incurs a carbon footprint that is a whopping 21 times more than the climate-friendly meal.
While the climate-friendly meal has only 30% of the recommended daily protein intake (compared to 96% for the hamburger), no problem! For the climate-friendly meal, you have only eaten 11% of your daily calories. G’head! Treat yourself! Eat another nine meals like this (or, eat a similarly healthy breakfast and lunch and call it good, this would give you your protein for the day)! Even if you ate another nine meals like this, and your best friend chooses to eat nothing for the day but the hamburger, your carbon footprint would still be less than half that of the one hamburger.
| Double cheeseburger | Russian-style stewed mushrooms with grits | |
| Calories | 740 (37 % DV) | 228 (11 % DV) |
| Total Fat | 42 g (54 % DV) | 2.6 g (3.3 % DV) |
| Cholesterol | 165 mg (55 % DV) | 0 mg (0 % DV) |
| Total Carbs | 43 g (16 % DV) | 42 g (15 % DV) |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g (7 % DV) | 9.2 g (33 %) |
| % of carbohydrates as fiber | 5 % | 22 % |
| Total Protein | 48 g (96 % US FDA) | 15 g (30% US FDA) |
| Total Carbon Footprint per Serving** | 12.6 kg CO2 | 0.59 kg CO2 |
*Based on a 2000 calorie per day dietary intake; DV = daily value for Total Fat (78 g); Cholesterol (300 mg); Total Carbohydrate (275 g); Fiber (28 g); Total Protein (50 g). See www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/InteractiveNutritionFactsLabel/assets/InteractiveNFL_Protein_October2021.pdf and www.fda.gov/food/new-nutrition-facts-label/daily-value-new-nutrition-and-supplement-facts-labels#referenceguide.
**Carbon footprints were calculated using Plate Up for the Planet’s carbon food calculator and CarbonCloud’s climate footprint calculator.
What do you say? Decadent and unhealthy habits or healthy and planet-friendly food? In this case, the healthy choice is the cheaper choice as well. The burger costs approximately $7, and the Russian-style stewed mushrooms with grits costs less than $3 per serving.
People often wonder what practical steps they can take to make a difference. Do yourself, your body, and the climate a favor and grub like a champ: try Russian-style stewed mushrooms and grits as a main course for dinner tonight and skip the burger. Are you tempted to try this? Let us know what you think in the comments →
I’ll try this if I can come up with a mushroom substitute, because in all my years on this earth, I have not found a mushroom I like. And yeah, I’ve tried a lot of mushrooms….
I have never seen many different varieties of mushroom in the US. The ones that are available seem largely interchangeable to me. This recipe does little for the mushroom if you do not like shrooms, and the taste is unabashedly shroomy. Maybe try something from Wicked Kitchen’s Mushroom Manifesto (https://wickedkitchen.com/mushroom-manifesto.pdf). Many of these recipes do transform the mushroom taste. And if you go with them, you can count yourself a partner in crimini.