Vegan medallion with Madeira sauce – 02/06/2023 – Terra Vegana

One of my biggest passions is recreating affective memories with food. Anyone who was a child in the 90s must remember this dish, served in basically every restaurant in the capital. Although it is no longer the hype As of the moment, medallions in Madeira sauce are still present on menus around the world, and it is not uncommon to find the delicacy in wedding buffets.

It’s a dish that never went out of fashion, but it needs to be revamped. We know that beef production alone accounts for 25% of greenhouse gas emissions generated by the food industry. The conclusion is from a study published in 2021 by the scientific journal “Nature Food”, which also revealed that meat production generates twice as many greenhouse gases when compared to the production of all plant foods.

And how to replace the medallion of meat in this emblematic dish? The best answer is in the portobello mushroom, with a rich, intense flavor, with meaty notes and texture. The secret to turning a mushroom into a medallion starts even before you place it on the frying pan. When cleaning, no washing in water, this would compromise the texture and flavor of our vegan medallion. Residual earth must be removed dry, with the help of a clean dish towel or paper towel. Just rub the mushrooms, the drier they are in the pan, the more meaty and juicy they will be.

Unlike the beef medallion, the portobello medallion cannot be served medium rare. In a first step, we grill it in a frying pan over high heat, to seal it, and finish cooking it in the oven, to ensure that the mushroom is well cooked and soft inside. With the help of a very sharp knife, we make cross stripes on the surface of the mushrooms to help the flavor penetrate.

And, speaking of flavor, the Madeira sauce must be prepared in the same pan as the mushrooms, that is, in the frying pan, to take advantage of the “bottom” full of flavors. The thickener for the sauce is a mixture of flour and butter —the roux— and can be prepared with good vegan butter. The shallot, used in the preparation of the sauce, resembles a small onion with an elongated shape and has a slightly sweet and milder flavor than the onion. In the absence of shallots, we can use red onion. And in the absence of portobello, we can use other fresh mushrooms.

The potato is the perfect match for this dish, a velvety puree provides a good contrast in texture with the firmness of the mushroom. This is one of the few occasions when I do without rice, but anyone who wants to can complement the dish with white rice finished with finely chopped parsley leaves.

PORTOBELLO MEDALLION WITH MADEIRA SAUCE

Ingredients

300 g of portobello mushroom

200 g canned mushrooms, drained

1 shallot

2 tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons wheat flour

1 ½ tablespoon tomato paste

½ cup red wine

1 ½ cup vegetable broth

Preparation

1. Take the mushrooms to brown in butter and set aside.

2. Sanitize the mushrooms with a clean dish towel. Cut the stems off the mushrooms and crisscross the top, this will allow the flavors to penetrate better.

3. Grill the mushrooms in a hot frying pan, with a generous amount of olive oil, on both sides, until golden. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Transfer the mushrooms to a baking dish and place in a preheated oven at 190 degrees for 15 minutes to finish cooking.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the puree and sauce.

5. In the same pan as the mushrooms, saute the finely chopped shallots in olive oil. Before browning, add the butter, wait for it to melt and add the flour. Cook this mixture for 2 minutes and add the tomato paste. Mix to form a paste and cook for another 2 minutes.

6. Add the wine, stir well with a wire rod to dissolve the flour. Gradually add the vegetable stock, stirring constantly, until a velvety, slightly consistent sauce is formed. Season with salt and black pepper and add the reserved mushrooms.

7. Serve the portobello medallion on a bed of mashed potatoes and drizzle generously with the Madeira sauce.

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