Mushroom Caviar

I recently got Babbette’s Feast Mushroom Caviar at Whole Foods. It is made in Rhode Island, delicious but pricey and not always available. Ingredients are listed as follows: "Mushrooms, Tofu, Olive Oil, Red Wine, Shallots, Garlic, Soy Sauce, Vegan Worcestershire Sauce, Lemon, Cayenne Pepper, Herbs and Salt". I surfed the Internet for recipes with similar ingredients and pulling techniques and quantities from these recipes, came up with my version of Babbett’s:



½ pound Portobello mushrooms, cut into small cubes
2 shallots finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
2 t olive oil
1 T red wine (optional)
½ t soy sauce
½ t Worcestershire sauce (optional, I usually omit)
1 t lemon juice
Dash of cayenne pepper (I sometimes omit and use nutmeg instead)
4 oz firm tofu, squeezed to remove excess water and crumbled
1 T fresh parsley, finely chopped

Put the olive oil, shallots, garlic and mushrooms in a large skillet over low heat and cook gently for about 15-20 minutes until the mushrooms have given off a lot of water. Make sure the heat is very low to start with, and stir occasionally. Cook until the mushroom juices are reduced to 1 T or less, add the wine, soy and Worcestershire sauces, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper.

Cool slightly, then put mushroom mixture and tofu in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until mixture is finely chopped but still has texture. Add parsley. Chill and serve with finely sliced feucille or baguette or crackers.

Reviewed 5/17/17