Creamy Mushroom & Kale
This creamy mushroom & kale is a lightweight cream-based dish that one can eat without feeling overwhelmed by the rich texture of cream. If you prefer a light creamier taste as I do, this is a recipe that is perfect for home-cooking as one can tweak the consistency of the creamy sauce with ease. I used Portobello mushrooms, known for their earthy umami taste and ‘meaty’ feel, which is apt as this is a meatless dish. Kale is always my favourite and a perfect companion to mushrooms – I was lucky that I found some cheap air-flown kale from Prime Supermarket to make this dish.
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INGREDIENTS
These are the 4 main ingredients for my creamy mushroom & kale:
- Mushroom – I am using portobello mushrooms. Cut/tear the mushroom coarsely to large chunks – they will taste and look better in this dish. You can use any favourite mushrooms (maitake, button, cremini etc) or a mushroom medley pack.
- Kale leaves – Remove the stem and cut/tear the leaves to smaller pieces. Wash and spin dry the kale leaves – this can be prepared in advance. Store the washed kale leaves in a food ziplock bag. I often prepared kale this way on the very same day of purchase and they lasted for a few more days longer in the fridge.
- Cream – I am using Emborg pasta cream as it was on sale. You can use most types of cooking cream for this recipe.
- Meatless soup concentrate – I dissolved a mix of mushroom seasoning powder and dashi powder in hot water. The combination of mushroom + dashi powder gave the meatless creamy sauce a delicious savoury depth. I dissolved the granules in hot water when I made this dish, but I later streamlined the recipe to add it directly to the pan. You can use any favourite soup granules for this recipe.
STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS
Here are the step-by-steps for making creamy mushroom & kale:
- In a large pot of boiling water, blanch kale for a few minutes and set aside the cooked kale in a colander. Do not discard the kale cooking water.
- Saute onions and mushroom in olive oil, butter, Italian seasoning and garlic salt, until the mushrooms are tender.
- Add cream, kale cooking water, and soup granules (mushroom + dashi powder). You can add more kale cooking water, a ladle at a time, for your desired consistency.
- Add the kale and simmer down the sauce a little.
You can serve this creamy mushroom & kale on its own as a light meal with toast or rice. You can also toss in some pasta as a one-dish meal.
Creamy Mushroom & Kale Recipe
I am using portobello mushrooms in this recipe. You can use any favourite mushrooms (such as maitake, button and cremini), or a medley mushroom mix. Remember to cut/tear the mushrooms to big chunks so that they will retain a good size and bite after cooking.
Check out the detailed step-by-step photos on the previous page.
Serves: 2-3
Prep Time: 12
Cook Time: 12
Ingredients:
- 50g kale leaves
- 50g chopped onions
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 150g portobello mushrooms (black gills removed) coarsely cut or torn to chunks
- 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning (or any favourite herbs blend)
- 1/4 tsp garlic salt
- 20g unsalted butter
- 100g cooking cream
- 200ml kale cooking water add more as needed
- 1 tsp soup granules (I used dashi powder + mushroom powder) to taste; see note below
Directions:
- Blanch kale. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add kale and blanch for about 5 minutes. Drain the kale in a colander. Do not discard the kale cooking water.
- Cook mushrooms. In a large pan, sauté onion in olive oil until they start to soften. Add mushrooms, Italian seasoning, garlic salt and butter. Sauté the mushrooms briefly. Add a small splash of kale cooking water, cover with lid and let the mushrooms steam for about 3 minutes until they are tender.
- Add cream, kale cooking water, and soup granules (dashi powder + mushroom powder). Stir well to dissolve the soup granules completely. Add more kale cooking water, 1 small ladle at a time, if needed, until the desired creamy consistency is reached.
- Add kale back to the pan, mix well and simmer down the sauce a little. Season to taste. Serve with toast or rice. You can also toss in some cooked pasta to serve this as a one-dish meal.
Cooking Note(s):
You can use any favourite soup granules – such as chicken consommé powder, or even replace the liquids with a rich soup stock (tetra-pak vegetable/mushroom/chicken). I find that the mix of dashi and mushroom powder provided a depth of natural umani depth that is perfect in a meatless dish.