Vegan Mushroom à la King
Did you ever have Chicken à la King? How about Turkey à la King? That was always a biggie at my house growing up… after Thanksgiving, that is. My mom put that leftover turkey in EVERYTHING. Enter this fabulously scrumptious vegan version of the creamy à la King! But wait… what the heck is it and why is it called à la King anyway?
The most likely account is that Chicken à la King was created in the 1890s by hotel cook William “Bill” King of the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia. Several obituaries in early March 1915 credited King after he died on March 4, 1915. A New York Tribune editorial at the time of King’s death stated:
“The name of William King is not listed among the great ones of the earth. No monuments will ever be erected to his memory, for he was only a cook. Yet what a cook! In him blazed the fire of genius which, at the white heat of inspiration, drove him one day, in the old Bellevue, in Philadelphia, to combine bits of chicken, mushrooms, truffles, red and green peppers and cream in that delight-some mixture which ever after has been known as ‘Chicken a la King.’ “
The à la King that I had as a child was always served over toast. Can we say “comfort food?” Well, I made some basmati brown rice to serve with ours, but I HAD to have some on toast, too. YUMMERS!!!!!!
- 1½ pounds mushrooms (any kind—I used white button and shiitake), sliced
- 1 medium-sized sweet onion, diced
- ½ cup red bell pepper, diced
- ½ cup green bell pepper, diced
- 1½ cups raw cashews
- 2 cups pure water
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ cup sweet peas (frozen is fine)
Directions:
- Water saute the mushrooms, onion and peppers until tender.
- Place the cashews into a high-powered blender with one cup of water. Blend until smooth. Add the remaining water and blend again until smooth.
- Add the cashew cream to the veggies with the black pepper and the peas. Stir well and simmer until hot. Add more water if the cashew cream gets too thick. It should be the consistency of a cream sauce.
- Serve on top of rice, pasta or… toast!
Serves 4. Enjoy!
