What is mushroom sauce and how is it eaten? What is included in the product, what are the recipes for its preparation? All the details about mushroom sauce, its beneficial properties and contraindications for use.
Mushroom sauce is a versatile gravy for hot and cold main courses. The sauce is ideal for vegetables, poultry, beef or seafood. Informally, it is considered a close relative of tartare, because it is vaguely similar to it in taste and cooking principle. It is a kind of substitute for mayonnaise. It occupies the position of the base sauce in French cuisine. Like both adults and children. Nutritionists and other doctors emphasize that sauce can simultaneously saturate the body with useful substances and harm it with its calorie content and other harmful properties.
Composition and calorie content of mushroom sauce
The basic composition of mushroom sauce contains the following ingredients:
- Whole chicken eggs or egg whites are the main ingredient in the sauce;
- A mixture of spices - tarragon, green parsley, etc.;
- Shallots - considered a more tender and aromatic analogue of regular onions;
- Mustard - Dijon mustard, traditional for France, is most often chosen, which includes white wine;
- Vegetable oil - it is important that it has a neutral taste, therefore, for the preparation of the sauce, rapeseed or grape oil is usually used;
- Wine vinegar is less cloying than wine, is very beneficial for human health, and is widely used in many sauces and dressings in various cuisines of the world.
Pickled cucumbers, hard cheese, capers or, for example, pickled corn can be used as additional and optional ingredients in the sauce.
The calorie content of mushroom sauce per 100 g is 202 kcal, of which:
- Protein - 15 g;
- Fat - 15 g;
- Carbohydrates - 0 g;
- Dietary fiber - 0 g.
The sauce contains a lot of nutrients useful for humans, namely:
- Lipids;
- Vitamins - B, C, D, E, etc.;
- Minerals - iron (Fe), phosphorus (P), iodine (I), selenium (Se), sodium, (Na), etc.
On a note! Home-made mushroom, unlike store-bought mayonnaise, does not last long. It is advisable to use it within a couple of days.
Useful properties of mushroom sauce
The benefits of mushroom sauce for the human body is explained by the rich composition of the product. The sauce is made from a large number of ingredients, each of which has its own vitamin and mineral complex. In addition, it is quite satisfying and high-calorie, so it always allows you to quickly satisfy your hunger.
The main beneficial properties of mushroom:
- It has a beneficial effect on the work of the gastrointestinal tract, the state of immunity and the organs of vision. This property is inherent in the sauce thanks to the shallots, which are rich in vitamins, minerals and other useful elements. Also, this onion variety is famous in folk medicine for its anti-inflammatory properties.
- Prevents the development of cancer in the body. All the same shallots and other plant components of the sauce are rich in flavonoids - substances that have a preventive effect on the human body against the development of tumors.
- It is able to improve the condition of hair, bones and the functioning of the circulatory system. The chicken eggs that make up the sauce contain a lot of iron, which is involved in the synthesis of blood cells. Also, eggs are rich in folic acid, vitamins and minerals necessary for hair growth and strengthening of human bone tissue.
- Prevents premature aging. The mushroom sauce contains selenium, which is considered a powerful natural antioxidant.
- Optimizes the functioning of the nervous system, normalizes blood pressure. Wine vinegar, rich in potassium, is responsible for this process, which can lower cholesterol levels in human blood.
Contraindications and harm of mushroom sauce
Doctors talk a lot about the dangers of mushroom sauce, because this product contains a lot of cholesterol (thanks to chicken eggs). It is known that cholesterol can cause a person to develop serious problems with the circulatory system.
If you eat mushroom in limited quantities, you will not feel the harm of cholesterol, so try not to overuse the sauce.
Also, everyone who suffers from ailments of the gastrointestinal tract and diseases of the genitourinary system … This is because shallots, eaten in particularly large quantities, can cause urinary problems. It is the shallots that are included in the basic composition of the mushroom.
If you have been diagnosed with increased acidity of the stomach, try to completely exclude mushroom and other foods similar in composition from your diet. Otherwise, you can provoke irritation of the mucous membrane of your stomach, which will have to be treated with medication.
How to make mushroom sauce?
If you love to season your culinary masterpieces with gravy, you just need to learn how to make mushroom sauce - a versatile dressing for main courses. One of the main ingredients in the sauce is chicken eggs. Depending on the type of processing, two types of filling are distinguished: sauce in which the eggs are boiled until a soft yolk is obtained, filling from hard-boiled eggs and then cut into small pieces.
Note to the chef! For premium soft-boiled eggs, cook them over medium heat for 4 minutes. During this time, the protein will completely harden (even in the area of contact with the yolk), and the yolk will still remain liquid.
Step-by-step recipe for mushroom sauce of the first type:
- Marinate the shallots first. Peel two small onions and chop them as small as possible. Pour 2 tablespoons of cherry vinegar on the onion and leave to soften for a while.
- Boil 2 soft-boiled chicken eggs. It is important that the yolk in the finished eggs remains liquid. And pour cold water over them right away for better peeling.
- Crush the peeled eggs as hard as possible with a fork, then mix with 1 tbsp. l. Dijon mustard and a pinch of salt.
- Begin beating the eggs, gradually pouring 1 tbsp of olive oil into them. Stop the blender when the sauce has a smooth consistency and has increased in volume.
- The sauce is almost ready, it remains to add the prepared pickled onions and 2 tbsp. l. chopped capers (flowering plant buds). Add more salt to the sauce if necessary.
The described variant of mushroom is vaguely reminiscent of mayonnaise in taste and method of preparation. The second version of the sauce has a more original taste, although it is made from almost the same ingredients as the first one. To prepare mushrooms according to the second method, you should carefully select the olive oil - it should be as fragrant as possible.
Step-by-step recipe for mushroom type II:
- Mix the chopped shallots not with vinegar, but with lemon juice (2 onions and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice).
- Set the plate of onions aside for a while and take care of the eggs. Boil 2 hard boiled chicken eggs. Separate the whites from the yolks and grind the yolks with 1 tsp. mustard.
- In a separate bowl, combine the various seasonings: zest of half a lemon, 1 tbsp. l. chopped capers, 2 tbsp. l. finely chopped parsley and the same amount of green onions. Mix the ingredients thoroughly and add to them finely chopped gherkins (3-4 pcs.) And 2/3 tbsp. olive oil. Beat the resulting mass with a whisk.
- Chop the whites into large chunks and add them to the green mixture. Add already processed yolks and shallots to this.
- Season the prepared sauce with a little salt and beat thoroughly until smooth.
Mushroom sauce recipes
As already mentioned, mushroom goes well with any main course, so we present a selection of the most original and simple recipes with his participation:
- Garden salad … This dish can be prepared not only for adults, but also for children, because in appearance it resembles a toy garden bed. When preparing salad with edible ingredients, you need to imitate the land and vegetables planted in it. You already know how to cook mushroom sauce from the previous section of the article. To prepare the base of the salad, which will be positioned as earth, you will need black olives (200 g). Choose pitted olives. Rinse them out of the brine and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place the baking sheet in the oven for 2 hours. Then take it out, chop the olives in half and put them back in the oven for 2 hours. When they are completely dry, cool them and chop finely with a knife. Mix the resulting mass with grape seeds or flax seeds (25 g), previously dried in a dry pan. Boil any vegetables you like (carrots, beets, etc.). The main thing is that they are small. Cut off the ends of the vegetables. Serve the salad as follows: put mushroom sauce on the bottom of a bowl, sprinkle olives with seeds on it, stick vegetables into the so-called soil. The salad is ready, bon appetit!
- Juicy asparagus with bread and cheese croutons and mushroom sauce … Prepare the mushroom. Make a bread base for a salad - cut circles, rectangles, or other shapes from white bread that you like or have a mold to create. Brush the bread pieces with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle the bread with grated Parmesan cheese and place in the oven for 10 minutes. Such bread is called croutons, it will be ready when it acquires a golden crust. While the croutons are in the oven, process the asparagus, we only need one bunch of it (for two servings). Cut off the ends of the asparagus (asparagus) and set it upright to simmer in boiling water. Once the asparagus is tender, it should be removed from the pan. The cooking process usually takes about 6 minutes. Serve the beans with croutons and gravy and eat with your hands.
- Baked pike perch with mushroom sauce … If you decide to cook fish, be sure to remember about the existence of the mushroom, because this sauce will make any fish dish a real culinary masterpiece. To cook two servings of pike perch in the oven under this filling, you will need 400 g of fish and 30 minutes of free time. To begin with, fry the pike perch a little literally in a hot frying pan greased with vegetable oil (this way the meat will acquire a golden crust, will not stick to the surface of the pan and retain its shape). Next, bake the fish in the oven for 15 minutes. During this time, start cooking vegetables that will be served with fish as a side dish. Seed one bell pepper and half a chili. Cut the vegetables into thin strips, along with several celery stalks, 1 carrot and a leek (use only the white center of the onion). Now fry the vegetables in a 1 tbsp pan. l. soy sauce. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar over the contents of the pan. Serve the fish with cooked vegetables and sauce.
Interesting facts about mushroom sauce
In various historical and culinary sources, the date of creation of the mushroom is different. According to one of the oldest cooking books, the egg sauce recipe was first published in 1903. The book also says that mushroom is one of the mother sauces of French cuisine. This means that any chef who is fond of preparing French delicacies must master the basics of making egg sauce.
Historians note that back in the days of the Roman Empire, people prepared a gravy similar to a modern French delicacy. However, this dish had a different name.
Nowadays, mushroom is an integral part of the menu of prestigious restaurants. It is served with pork head, shrimp, fish and more.
How to make mushroom sauce - watch the video:
Mushroom sauce is a hearty delicacy that can literally save any trivial dish. Season with this gravy vegetable salad and it immediately turns into an expensive restaurant dish. In addition, the sauce is rich in nutrients and has a beneficial effect on human health. The consumption of the product should be minimized only for people with high acidity of the stomach and serious disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.
