Minecraft – Mushroom Stew

Is it a stew? Is it a soup? Not even Notch seems to be sure. What we do know is that mushrooms are awesome. Why, you ask? Because mushrooms are the very foundation of the gaming industry. Without the iconic ‘1-UP’, perhaps gaming wouldn’t have become as popular as it is today. It’s a sobering thought, but from Mario to Minecraft, mushrooms have appeared in innumerable titles across the years. I’m also a personal fan of the fungi, as a vegetarian they feature a lot in my diet. They’re incredibly delicious, but mushroom soup is probably one of the most foul things you can ever taste, especially when it comes from a can. So change your mind, and follow in the footsteps of gaming heroes by enjoying some real, fresh mushroom stew. (No Mooshrooms were harmed in the making of this recipe).

This recipe serves 4.

What you will need: A large and deep frying pan/skillet, kitchen towel and a small pot.

For the Croutons:

Olive Oil

Salt

4 Slices White Bread

For the Mushroom Stew:

Olive Oil

Truffle Oil (Optional)

Salt & Pepper

300g / 4 Cups Mushrooms (Chopped)

• Portabello
• Pink Oyster
• Yellow Oyster
• Shimeji

1 Tablespoon Butter

1 Small White Onion (Chopped)

1 Clove Garlic

500ml Vegetable Stock (Or use 250ml Vegetable and 250ml Mooshroom/Beef stock)

1 Tablespoon Fresh Thyme (Chopped)

1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley (Chopped)

110ml / ½ Cup Single Cream

Making the Croutons:

1. Using a sharp knife, cut out the shape of the pixelated mushroom. You can use this image as a template. Cut out some squares too and set aside.
2. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil and a dash of truffle oil in a large frying pan. Add a little salt once heated, then carefully lay the bread shapes into the pan.
3. Once they are golden on one side, flip them over. Remove the croutons from the pan when crisp and lay them on some absorbent kitchen towel to drain any excess oil. Set aside for garnishing later.

Making the Mushroom Stew:

1. Heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan on a medium high heat. Once hot add the mushrooms and fry for one minute.
2. Next, add the butter, onion and garlic and stir. Season with a little salt and pepper, drop in the thyme and allow to cook.
3. Once the moisture in the pan has reduced and is almost gone, add the stock. Bring it to the boil, then allow the soup to simmer for about 5 minutes.
4. Once simmered, pour the soup into a bowl and blend for a few minutes. You can blend it to be very smooth, or leave it a little chunky – whichever you prefer. Once blended, pour the soup into a clean pot and warm through.
5. Add the cream and some parsley and stir well. Serve the soup up, and garnish with the croutons, some thyme, parsley and a drizzle of truffle oil.

I was really pleased with how this turned out, and by some stroke of fate I managed to pick mushrooms at random in the store that just so happened to be perfect for soups! There’s a great depth of flavour that’s light and warming, and the croutons add a delightful contrast in texture and taste. I will make a warning though, this stew/soup certainly wont be for everybody. I think you’d probably have to love mushrooms to like this. And I mean really love mushrooms. You’d have to be, like, a spore away from being one yourself – or maybe just a fun guy or gal (that’s right, I went there). For those of you that do like it, however, just make sure not to gobble the bowl while you’re at it.

Like this? You might also enjoy the Minecraft - Cake.

Request: Minecraft – Cake

I purposefully don’t play Minecraft; though enough of my friends have harassed me to play it and I’ve heard nothing bur praises. I’ve spoken before of my horribly addictive personality and I know that if I got involved in Minecraft I would never again see the light of day and they’d find my shrivelled, malnourished corpse collapsed over my laptop. It would be a good way to go, but just not yet. Either way Minecraft Cake has been on my list for a while now and enough of you have been asking for it so here you go!

This recipe makes 2 small cakes.

What you will need: Large mixing bowl, 20x20 square cake tin, small bowl, small pot, sieve, whisk, rolling pin, spatula, greaseproof/baking paper.

For the Cake:

200g / 1½ Cups Plain Flour

2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

200g / 1 Cup Golden Caster/Superfine Sugar

200g / 1 Cup Butter (Room Temperature)

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

3 Medium Eggs (Room Temperature)

3 Tablespoons Milk

For the Frosting:

100g / ½ Cup Dark Chocolate

25g / ¼ Cup Butter

150ml / ⅔ Cup Single Cream

100g - 200g / 1 - 1½ Cups Icing Sugar

To Finish:

White Ready-to-roll Icing

Red Ready-to-roll Icing

Preparing the Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a 20x20cm square cake tin.

2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.

3. Beat the eggs and add them slowly to the butter and sugar along with the vanilla extract.

4. Sieve in the flour and baking powder then combine it gently into the mixture. Pour into the prepared cake tin and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

5. Once golden brown and springy, allow to cool and store in the fridge while you prepare the frosting.

Making the Frosting:

1. In a bain-marie, melt the chocolate, butter and cream together until smooth.
2. Allow to cool until the mixture thickens slightly, then slowly whisk in the icing sugar until the chocolate is light and fluffy. Allow to cool further before spreading onto the cake.

Making the Cake:

1. Once the cake has cooled, level it carefully then cut it into 4. You may want to use a cookie cutter or make a template so each piece is of equal size.

2. Take a portion as your base and add a little frosting to the top of it and layer another piece of cake for the top – set aside.

3. On a clean work surface, sprinkle some icing sugar and roll out the white icing to about 1 cm thick and cut a piece large enough to comfortably cover the cake.

4. Spread some frosting on top of the cake and then cover with the white icing. Trim the icing, then cut in the pattern. You may want to make a template and use scissors/scalpel.

5. Roll out the red icing to about 1cm thick like before and cut out 4 large and 6 small squares, arrange the red squares on top of the cake to match the Minecraft Cake.

6. Cut appropriately to serve. If you leave the cake you will have to return to the cake to continue eating it.

I found this really stressful! I’ve made it at least three times now because this is a rather important entry! The cake its self is beautiful, just a simple sponge recipe, the tricky part is getting the shapes and icing correct. I didn’t think I would have to use my technical graphics skills to work out cake patterns – maybe I would have enjoyed it more at school if that had been its purpose from the start. All I can say is cardboard templates really saved the day here. You can of course make this cake massive if you have the right sized tins, I did not so I had to improvise and make smaller, personal cakes - that way I didn’t have to share. I am, however, officially sick of eating cake.

Like this? You might also enjoy the Minecraft - Mushroom Stew.