Mushroom sauce with chicken, peas and chips

This is a basic mushroom sauce, very creamy with a slight tang, versatile enough to complement many, many dishes, fish or meat. Goes perfectly with Coulibiak.

Mushroom sauces are pretty easy to make and play around with. There are a few factors you want to consider when making your sauce, do you want it very creamy, do you want it bordering on a strong sour note, do you want it dark or do you want it light?

Mushroom sauces can be made with single/double cream which will result in a very creamy and mild sauce. Or you can use creme fraiche for a lighter and slightly tangy result, yoghurt will give you a fairly similar outcome. My personal favourite is soured cream, I’m a huge fan of it and I like to combine single cream and soured creme to achieve just the right balance to produce a creamy yet tangy sauce.

When it comes to the final colour, it’s all about the mushrooms used. The more white mushrooms used, the lighter the colour, as in the pictures here. I like to use a combination of wild mushrooms like porcini, chanterelle, charcoal burner and black trumpet along with some white buttons. Of course at any one time, I only use about 2 or 3 types.

After checking the seasoning, sprinkle some fresh herbs on before serving. One thing to note here is what herb to use, just make sure that whether it’s parsley, dill or coriander, it should complement the main dish it’s accompanying.

brown shimeiji and girolle mushrooms

400g mixed mushrooms (a couple of wild types plus white button)

2 onions, halved and sliced thinly

50g butter

200ml soured cream

100ml single cream

1 quarter tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1 quarter tsp mustard

salt to taste

freshly parsley, chopped

translucent onions

1. Get the largest frying pan you can and heat it on a medium heat.

2. Melt the butter, making sure it doesn’t burn/brown. When melted, add the onions and sauté for a couple of minutes until the onions are translucent.

3. Add mushrooms and mix and cook for about 5 minutes.

4. Add the creams and mixed and simmer, uncovered for about 20 -30 minutes, depending on how thick you like it. As I don’t use any flour, it’s not thick to begin with.

all the mushrooms

5. After 20 minutes, check the seasoning, add salt if you need to. Add the pepper and mustard, stir well and cook for another couple of minutes.

6. Stir in the parsley and serve immediately.

If you want to make this ahead, transfer to a bowl, cover with cling film, making sure the film is touching the sauce surface (this will stop skin forming) and reheat gently before serving.

simmering away