Almond Vegetables in Brown Sauce

Sometimes you start out making one thing and for various reasons something better happens. What was going to be a cashew vegetable recipe turned into almond vegetables with a rich brown sauce. Cooking the mushrooms seperately and in a dry non-stick skillet helps them retain a meaty texture.

Almond Vegetables in Brown Sauce

 

16 oz. Button mushrooms, sliced
2/3 C. Slivered almonds
1 T. Canola or peanut oil
3 c. broccoli florets
1 medium onion, cut into ½” pieces
1 medium red pepper, cut into ½” pieces
1 medium zucchini, diced into ½” pieces
1 medium yellow squash, diced into ½” pieces
1 c. water
1 ½ t. cornstarch
2 T. soy sauce
½ t. Sesame oil
1 T. Rice Wine Vinegar
½ T. Raw sugar
1/8 t. ground ginger
Salt to taste


In a dry large skillet, toast the slivered almonds over medium heat, stirring frequently. Set aside. In same skillet add mushrooms and cook over medium heat until water has evaporated and they begin to wrinkle and brown. Set aside.


Add canola or peanut oil to skillet and broccoli florets, stir fry over medium-high heat until semi-tender (about 5 minutes), remove from skillet and set aside. Add onion and red peppers and stir fry until onion is translucent, and then add zucchini and yellow squash. Reduce heat to medium and stir fry until soft and squash shrinks a bit (about 5 minutes). Remove all veggies and set aside with broccoli. Remove skillet from heat.


In a container with a leak proof lid, add water, cornstarch, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, sugar, and ground ginger. Shake well to dissolve the cornstarch into the liquids. Add the liquid, carefully, into the hot skillet, place back on heat and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat and let liquid reduce for 3 minutes. You will see the color of the sauce getting darker. Add the broccoli mixture back into the pan and stir until sauce reduces to desired thickness and all veggies are coated.

Top with mushrooms and toasted almonds and enjoy!

Notes: Toasting nuts hardly takes any time, so watch them carefully, I tend to stir them the entire time to prevent burning. Use any veggies you like for this dish, cook the denser heavier ones first as they take longer to soften up.