Stroganoff is one of those dishes passed along for generations. A comforting, hearty winter meal, I envision my grandparents dining in front of a roaring fire while watching the snow fall. The only issue for me is that traditionally, it is meats (and leftovers) that are turned into stroganoff. My husband despises turkey, and I want to entertain over the holidays with elevated dishes that give a nod to the past without using the double creams favoured by generations past. In order to satisfy all of my goals, I decided to alter the original recipe to include a variety of mouth-watering mushrooms, replace the dairy with Silk Almond Beverage and present everything inside a delectable puff pastry cup that uses no dairy.
Puff pastry seems complex but in reality, is easy to make. It keeps in the freezer for two months as well, so you can make a few batches and have it on hand. The trick with this type of dough is that it is made in two parts – the pastry, and the butter square. Kids can help with the folding and turning as you teach them fractions of thirds!
To make a good stroganoff the trick is always flavour. Using a variety of earthy mushrooms, thickened almond beverage and traditional herbs along with a rich vegetable stock, this recipe will delight guests for any holiday feast!
Dairy-Free Puff Pastry Recipe
Puff pastry dough:
1 ½ cups bread flour
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ cup Dairy-free Butter, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 cup ice cold water
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
Dairy-free Butter square:
1 ¼ cups dairy-free butter, cut into 1 Tablespoon-sized pieces
¼ cup dairy-free shortening, cut into 1 Tablespoon-sized pieces
¼ cup all-purpose flour
Dough wash (for baking stage):
1 Tablespoon Soy Beverage
1 Tablespoon agave syrup
- Cut your dairy-free butter and shortening into squares and put them in the fridge to chill.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the salt, bread flour and 1 ¼ cups of the all-purpose flour.
- Add this to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Slowly add the cold dairy-free butter and mix until the dough forms a sticky ball, about 30 seconds.
- Scrape down the bowl with a spatula and mix for another 30 seconds.
- Drizzle in the water and lemon juice and mix for another 30 seconds or until the dough forms a smooth ball. It will be quite sticky. If the dough is too wet, add a bit (no more than ¼ cup of all-purpose flour until you get the desired texture.
- Roll the dough into a ball, and cut an ‘X’ shape into the top. This will be your guide later when you roll it out. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours.
- Now you can prepare the dairy-free butter square. In a medium mixing bowl add 1¼ cups dairy-free butter and shortening pieces, ¼ cup all-purpose flour and mix until just combined.
- Place the mixture on a sheet of plastic wrap and shape to a 6-inch square. Wrap in plastic wrap and shape it to a more accurate square. Refrigerate for at least one hour and take a break while it all chills.
- Remove the pastry from the fridge, and on a lightly floured surface, roll into a 12-inch square. Next, remove your dairy-free butter square and place it on top of the larger pastry, so that the top piece makes a diamond in the centre of your square.
- Pretend you are wrapping a gift, and fold the larger piece’s corners into the centre, completely enveloping the smaller square.
- Roll the combined doughs gently outward so that you have a 14-inch square.
- Fold the pastry into thirds to form a long strip, then turn the dough 90 degrees and fold the ends into thirds once again. You have a square once again! (Your kids will be impressed with this geometry!)
- Wrap in plastic and pop into fridge for up to three days, allowing the fats to solidify together and the gluten to relax.
- Once again, roll out your dough to a 14-inch square and repeat your folds. This produces the extra layers in the puff pastry.
- When you are ready to use the layered pastry, roll out the dough, and cut into and apply the Silk Soy Beverage and agave wash to the top.
- Cut the square into 9 equal pieces.
- With a sharp knife, create a square in the middle without cutting all the way through. This will be the piece you remove to fill the cups with stroganoff.
- Place in refrigerator while you make the stroganoff.
Mushroom Stroganoff
2 portabella mushroom caps, sliced
1 cup shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 cup button mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 yellow onion, diced
5 tablespoons coconut oil
3 tablespoons flour
1½ cups Almond Beverage
1 cup vegetable stock
¼ cup dry white wine, plus more to deglaze
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce *ensure that there are no anchovies in the ingredient list
1 tablespoon coarse whole grain mustard
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons thyme
1 tablespoon dried rosemary, chopped
pinch nutmeg
green onions for garnish
Salt and pepper to taste
- Sauté mushrooms, garlic and onion in water or broth until they are tender and the onions are starting to brown (about 5 minutes). I always deglaze with white wine, but you can use the vegetable stock if you prefer. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Melt coconut oil in a large skillet or a pot. Whisking constantly, add the flour, one tablespoon at a time. Keep whisking until you have a thick mixture.
- Add the almond milk, broth, wine, worcestershire, mustard, tomato paste, thyme, and rosemary to the mixture. Bring to a boil and allow mixture to thicken well. If the sauce is slow to thicken, you can add more flour but make sure it cooks thoroughly. When adding flour to a hot liquid, always ladle a bit of the liquid into another bowl and mix the flour in thoroughly. This ensures there will be no lumps. Once your sauce is at the desired thickness, add the cooked mushroom mixture, and keep stirring till all is bubbly. You can always add stock if it becomes too thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Bake your puff pastry squares at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.
- Pop off the middle square, and fill each cup with stroganoff. Place the ‘hat’ back on and pour more sauce over the top.
- Sprinkle with nutmeg and fresh green onions.
We accompanied this with dairy-free coconut candy cane ice cream for a decadent holiday meal.
Pin it for the holidays!
