I have a confession to make. I am a hoarder when it comes to our freezer. I often stash food in there like I am preparing for the apocalypse and usually won’t stop until the freezer is bursting at its seams. Luckily, we only have a small, three drawer freezer. But my ambitions definitely exceed its size. As it happens, the freezer needs periodical defrosting, so when that time arrives, I work my way through the frozen stash. Only to build a new one right after. And so the circle of life continues.

During the last defrosting venture I found a bag of sliced porcini, which my dad foraged in the forest sometime last autumn. I instantly envisaged a giant plate of gnocchi filled with creamy mushroom sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

(Yields 4 generous servings / 1.58 EUR / 6.31 EUR for all)

For the sauce:

3 tbsp sunflower seed oil (0.04 EUR)

2 onions (0.20 EUR)

2 tbsp butter (0.27 EUR)

250 grams porcini mushrooms (free – they were foraged!)

500 grams Portobello mushrooms (2.00 EUR)

½ tsp salt (0.01 EUR)

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper (0.03 EUR)

2 cups sour cream (1.07 EUR)

½ cup warm water (–)

1 cup shredded cheese (0.67 EUR)

For gnocchi:

Water (–)

Good pinch of salt (0.01 EUR)

1 tbsp sunflower seed oil (0.01 EUR)

1 kilo gnocchi (2.00 EUR)

METHOD:

Peel and finely dice the onions. Wipe the mushrooms with a damp kitchen towel and cut into thin strips. Place a big pot on high heat and saute the onions on oil for about five minutes until translucent. Add in butter, mushrooms, salt and pepper, stir and cook until the mushrooms are cooked down a bit, for about 10 minutes. Turn the heat down and stir in sour cream, water and shredded cheese. Cook briefly while stirring constantly for just a few minutes, until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth and creamy.

At the same time while you’re making the sauce, place another pot of water on high heat for the gnocchi. Add in salt, oil and gnocchi when the water reaches a rolling boil and cook the gnocchi according to package instructions. Once done, drain and serve hot with the mushroom sauce.

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Moram vam priznati da sam poprilični hoarder kada je u pitanju hrana u zamrzivaču. Često ga natrpam kao da se spremam za apokalipsu i ne stajem dok nam zamrzivač ne puca po šavovima. Srećom, imamo samo onaj mali sa tri ladice. No moje ambicije definitivno premašuju njegov kapacitet, a kao što to već biva, s vremena na vrijeme ga se treba i odlediti. Kada dođe do toga, trudim se iskoristiti i pojesti akumulirane zalihe. Samo da bi odmah napravila nove te se tako krug života nastavlja.

U zadnjoj akciji odleđivanja nabasala sam na vrećicu vrganja koje je moj tata prošle jeseni nabrao u šumi. Odmah sam imala viziju ogromnog tanjura njoka u umaku od gljiva.

SASTOJCI:

(Za 4 izdašne porcije / 11,79 kn po porciji / 47,17 kn za sve)

Za umak:

3 žlice suncokretovog ulja (0,30 kn)

2 luka (1,50 kn)

2 žlice maslaca (2,00 kn)

250 g vrganja (besplatni – nabrali smo ih sami!)

500 g šampinjona (15,00 kn)

½ žličice soli (0,01 kn)

½ žličice svježe mljevenog crnog papra (0,25 kn)

2 šalice kiselog vrhnja (8,00 kn)

½ šalice tople vode (–)

1 šalica ribanog sira (5,00 kn)

Za njoke:

Voda (–)

Dobar prstohvat soli (0,01 kn)

1 žlica suncokretovog ulja (0,10 kn)

1 kg njoka (15,00 kn)

PRIPREMA:

Ogulite i fino nasjeckajte luk. Gljive obrišite vlažnim kuhinjskim ručnikom i narežite na tanke listiće. Stavite veliki lonac na jaku vatru i na ulju prodinstajte luk oko pet minuta dok ne bude staklast. Dodajte maslac, gljive, sol i papar, promiješajte, te kuhajte desetak minuta da se volumen gljiva smanji. Smanjite vatru i umiješajte kiselo vrhnje, vodu i ribani sir. Kuhajte uz stalno miješanje koju minutu dok se sir ne rastopi, a umak ne bude gladak i kremast.

Istovremeno dok pripremate umak, stavite još jedan lonac vode na jaku vatru za njoke. Čim voda zakipi dodajte sol, ulje i njoke, pa ih kuhajte prema uputama na pakiranju. Kada su njoki gotovi, ocijedite ih i poslužite vruće sa umakom od gljiva.