Shrooms and Weed

I fed it to my children. As well as the children of others. Without guilt. Or fear. Any trepidations were from the unknown of whether it would taste good or turn out right. As is with most if not all new recipes.

As it turns out, shrooms and weed is a very pleasant combination. I shall make a point of thanking my suppliers....Ralph and Kirk. In some circles, they're known as Kroger and Costco. 

Yes...I'm talking about mushrooms and dill weed. What else would it be? 

(Disclaimer: I would like to take a moment to stress that I am in NO way shape or form, recommending or endorsing the use of narcotics or anything that is illegal or dangerous to the health of others)

I'm going to share the recipe for the meatballs. Not only were they very basic, but they were extremely tasty....much to my surprise and delight. I'll also share the recipe for the mushroom sauce. Although in my opinion....as much as I like mushrooms, I think there were too many.

The pasta....I won't share the recipe. I didn't like the dough at all. It was really crumbly and horrible to work with. But if you're curious, you can find the recipe here ----> Fresh Dill Noodles.

I really had to work the dough, more so than I have had to with other recipes. Although the results eventually were passable as pasta...

I didn't like the texture from the all purpose flour. You see....I was watching Melting Pot on The Cooking Channel that morning and was loving the idea of the dill. I decided to make the whole meal. But I was hesitant on using the all purpose flour for the pasta. Later that same day, I saw Giada making pasta and she too used all purpose flour. So I figured, 'what the hell! It must work'....and went with it.

Not a good idea. It was...for lack of a better word....mooshy? Without being soggy. Doughy? Looking...but not too doughy texture wise. If the noodles were thicker, I imagine they would be really weird. All in all....it was just not the same.


I will tell you that whatever pasta recipe you do like to work with, give yourself a treat and add about 4 tablespoons of chopped, fresh dill for every 2 cups of flour (semolina is what I recommend). The flavor is nice and mild and I think it enhances the dish without even the slightest hint of overpowering.

The meatballs and mushroom sauce is called Hungarian Style Swedish Meatballs

So, lets talk about these shrooms. I found this wonderful tub of mixed gourmet dried mushrooms at Costco...

Oh how much fun I'm going to have with this bunch of shrooms!! There are so many kinds in there...Porcini, Morels, Brazilian, Ivory Portabellas, Shitake and Oyster! And it all cost about $10.00! BINGO!!

Now, lets see what we can do with these babies.

Hungarian Style Swedish Meatballs

1 oz dried mushrooms (recipe says porcini....I used my new found gourmet mix)
3 cups beef broth
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, minced
4 slices white bread (thin cut), cut into 1/4" cubes
Salt and Pepper
12 oz crimini mushrooms
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup heavy cream (diet conscious peeps, use milk)
1 tablespoon paprika (Hungarian paprika if you have it)
1 cup sour cream (once again, diet conscious peeps, use plain yogurt)
Pasta

Simmer the dried mushrooms in the beef broth for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 30 minutes.

While that is going on, start on your meatballs. Combine the ground beef, onion, bread cubes, and salt and pepper to taste

Get your hands in there and mix it all up. Form into 1" balls (don't over work the meat. You don't want dense balls). Brown them in a large skillet. You will have to work in batches. Try not to overcrowd them....you want them browned, not tan from steaming.

No mater how hard I try....and how round they are when they hit the pan....they always flatten in some way. I usually end up with a 3 dimensional triangle. Go figure.

Set them aside while we start on the sauce and the shrooms.

(Somewhere along the line here, you're going to want to boil what ever pasta you're going serve this all on. Now might be a good time to get that started)

Drain and rinse the soaked mushrooms, reserving the beef broth.

Squeeze out any excess liquid, then dice em up. And set them aside along with the broth.

Toss the fresh crimi mushrooms in flour. If they're large....cut them in half or into quarters first. Saute them in the same pan you cooked the meatball in.

Here's a peak at my work station as I'm gearing up for the final steps....

 

 

I've got it all there....meatballs, sour cream, paprika, chopped dried mushrooms, cream, the broth is in that black sauce pan. Oh yes...and I have two very important items on hand.....Can you guess what they are?

Ok, let's get this dish completed....

Add the soaked, chopped gourmet mushrooms along with the reserved beef broth and the cream. Cook for about 3 minutes or so.

Just before serving, add the paprika and sour cream and serve over pasta and meatballs.  Garnish with more sour cream if desired. I didn't think of this until just now...but I bet a nice little sprinkle of chopped dill would be rather pleasant as well.

And there you have it. When I make this again, I will no doubt reduce the amount of mushrooms. And I will slice the crimini mushrooms instead of leaving them so big. In my opinion, they competed with the meatballs.

It was a fun and easy recipe to make. The flavors are simple yet rich. All in all, I'd say this was a satisfying meal. With a little adjustment here and there....it's going to a winner in my house.