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Meat-free Monday: Mushroom Maqluba
Mushroom Maqluba is a variation of the traditional Middle Eastern dish Maqluba, which means “upside-down” in Arabic.
The classic Maqluba typically includes rice, meat (usually chicken or lamb), and vegetables like eggplant, cauliflower, and potatoes. The ingredients are layered in a pot and cooked together, then inverted onto a serving dish, resulting in an impressive, structured presentation.
In Mushroom Maqluba, the meat is replaced with mushrooms, making it a great option for vegetarians.
Recipe compliments of South African Mushroom Farmers’ Association.
Ingredients:
- 500 g Jasmine / long-grain white rice
- 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
- 250 g button mushrooms sliced
- 1 large onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 6 cardamom pods
- 5 bay leaves
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 800 g medium-sized portabello / brown mushrooms
- Pomegranate rubies to serve
- Lightly toasted almond flakes to serve
- Fresh mint leaves to serve
- Double cream yoghurt to serve
- Olive oil for cooking
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
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Rinse rice well and then soak for 30 minutes.
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Preheat oven to 200˚C.
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Place portabellos on a large baking tray.
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Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
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Roast for ± 10 minutes, depending on their size, until tender.
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Remove and place on a chopping board gills side down to drain.
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Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a 26cm Dutch oven.
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Add the button mushrooms and cook until golden brown.
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Add the onion and cook until soft.
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Add the garlic and all the spices and cook until fragrant.
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Scrape the mixture out of the pot and add to a bowl.
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Drain the rice and add to the bowl and mix well along with 1 tsp of salt.
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Off the heat – arrange the portabellos, gills down, in the pot in a well-fitting pattern.
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Spoon the spiced mushroom and rice mixture over the portabellos.
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Gently pour the stock into the pot.
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Set a heatproof plate over the rice to keep it down.
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The plate should be slightly smaller than the width of the pot. A springform tin’s base works very well for this.
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Cover the pot with the lid and cook on low heat for 30 minutes.
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Remove the lid and check if the rice is tender.
To serve:
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Place a large, flat, serving dish on top of the pot.
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Using oven gloves, flip the pot onto the dish in one quick motion.
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If the rice cake does not release immediately, let the pot rest upside down for a few minutes.
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Remove the pot to reveal the beautiful mushroom-topped rice cake.
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Scatter the top with pomegranate rubies, toasted almonds and mint leaves.
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