Creamy Mushroom Marsala

vegan, soy-free, refined sugar-free

Adapted from a recipe on Vikalinka

What is Marsala? Not to be confused with Indian Masala, Marsala is a fortified wine, dry or sweet, produced in the region surrounding the Italian city of Marsala in Sicily. I've been experimenting with marsala sauces for a bit, and I've finally settled on this recipe for flavor and ease of preparation. If you've never cooked with wine before, it's totally worth trying since it adds so much flavor to the dish and its tangy sweetness complements the earthy mushrooms and creamy cashews. The alcohol has time to cook off, so you won't get tipsy (unless you have a glass of wine alongside!) It also comes together in about as much time as it takes to cook some pasta or mashed potatoes to go with it...yum!

Serves: 4 / Prep time: 15 min / Total time: 30 min 

Ingredients:​​
For the Sauce:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 shallot chopped
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 8 oz/200g (about 2 cups) mushrooms, sliced thickly*
• ​freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary or 1 tsp dried rosemary, crumbled
• 1 tbsp flour
• 125ml/1/2 cup Marsala wine or other red wine
• 1 cup "no chicken" or vegetable broth**
• 1/3 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for up to 8 hours***
• salt and/or MSG, to taste****

For serving: ​

• fresh parsley, torn, optional
• mashed potatoes, pasta, or crusty bread

Directions:

1. If your cashews are not already soaking, soak them in water while you prep everything else.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and saute the chopped shallot over low heat for 5-7 minutes, then add the garlic and cook briefly for 30 seconds while stirring.
3. Add the mushrooms with a pinch of pepper and chopped rosemary and brown over medium heat until golden. Add salt when mushrooms are close to done.
4. Sprinkle the mushrooms with flour and stir to coat. Deglaze the pan with the wine and let it bubble away for about 5 minutes until the liquid is reduced by a half.
5. Add the stock and cook for 5 minutes longer.
6. Meanwhile, drain the soaked cashews and add them to a blender along with 1/3 cup water. Blend on high speed until completely liquified. 
7. Stir the cashew cream into the sauce and let it warm through. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed, then take off the heat. Ladle into a bowl on top of pasta or potatoes. Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving if using.

*Cremini/baby bella mushrooms work well, but any variety or combination works for this.
​**I love using "Better than Bouillon" brand "No Chicken" Base or Vegetable Base to make a flavorful broth.
***If you have a high speed blender, this step is unnecessary.
****I've recently started using a tiny bit of MSG (Monosodium glutamate) in many of my recipes as a flavor enhancer. It gets a bad rap for allergic reactions in some people, but for most people it can be a healthy addition to your meals since it gives you more flavor with less salt. Is it really as bad as we all seem to believe it is? Check out this video. A good rule of thumb is 1/4 tsp MSG + 1/2 tsp salt = saltiness of 1 tsp salt.