Mushroom Loaf with White Onion Sauce

January 29, 2014

Mushroom Loaf with White Onion Sauce

This Mushroom Loaf is reminiscent of a frittata in texture but not in the method of starting it in a frying pan as everything is mixed together and baked. I don't know where this recipe came from. It's in my recipe box written out in my handwriting so I must have gotten it somewhere many years ago. The original recipe calls for 1 cup of cream and for the onions and mushrooms to be cooked in half a cup of margarine! I think that's a bit excessive so I scaled it down to 2 tablespoons of oil and use evaporated milk in place of the cream. I used 1 egg and 2 eggs worth of egg replacer (like Egg Beaters). Some of these old recipes are so heavy on the butter, eggs and cream it's a wonder any of us survived long enough to pass them on.

The White Onion Sauce is a favourite of mine since childhood. Mom would make it whenever we had fish and I could have eaten it by the bowlful. When I made this there were no left-overs on the sauce because I ate more than my share, spreading it all over the loaf, potatoes and vegetables and cleaned out the pot after dinner. So if you make this sauce when I come to visit make sure you make at least double, or quadruple it so you'll have some for yourself.

As this makes enough for 6-8 servings we had enough for another meal which we enjoyed just as much the second time around. There was still a serving left and this was plenty for a couple of sandwiches with mayonnaise and pickle.

Mushroom Loaf
1 cup chopped onions
2 cups chopped mushrooms
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning or savoury
1 teaspoon chicken-like seasoning or 1 vegetarian “chicken” bouillon
1 cup veggie burger, plain or Italian flavoured would be nice
1 cup shredded raw potato
1 cup evaporated milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten (You may use an equivalent of egg whites or egg product such as Egg Beaters.)
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf or casserole dish.

Sauté onions and mushrooms in oil until soft but not brown. Place cooked onions and mushrooms in medium size bowl.   Add the seasonings. (If using a bouillon cube add to the onions and mushrooms when frying so it will break up.) Mix in remaining ingredients and combine well.

Place the mixture in the greased baking dish and place in oven for 45-60 minutes. The time this takes to bake will depend how thick the mixture is in the dish.

Serve with favourite gravy or the following White Onion Sauce.

White Onion Sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup cold milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter and oil together over medium heat. The oil helps to keep the butter from burning. Add the chopped onion and cook until soft but do not brown. Add the flour and stir and cook over low heat about 1 minute until the mixture bubbles. Pour in the cold milk and stir until mixture thickens and comes to a low boil. Simmer for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.    Makes just a little more than 1 cup of sauce. This doubles quite easily if serving a larger group of diners.

Chop the onions and mushrooms.

Sauté onions and mushrooms in oil until soft but not brown.

I added the bouillon cube to the onions and mushrooms when they were almost cooked.

Mix everything together and place in a well greased baking dish.

I used a round dish today as I wanted a shallow loaf. I was running out of time and I wanted a thinner loaf to be cooked in time for dinner. A thicker loaf would take the full hour.