Baked Mushroom Noodle Ring

Ok.  Do you see the picture from the cookbook?  You can see why I'd want to make this, right?  I mean, it's noodles glued together into a moulded ring and a pool of mushroom sauce in the center.  It's a bundt cake of noodles!

The Original

Unfortunately, mine did not turn out as nicely as the one in the cookbook...

Mine

Yeah, mine underwent Catastrophic Noodle Ring Failure (CNRF).  Our top scientists are researching what could have caused this disaster.  I tried to follow the recipe pretty closely, but I did substitute fettucini noodles (because I had them in my cupboard) in for the "ribbon noodles" that were listed in the recipe. Maybe my noodle subsitution was the reason my creation didn't turn out like the one in the cookbook.  Personally, I think a second egg would have made all the difference and the noodles would have glued together a bit better. 

The dish tasted bland, but inoffensive. It's just noodles and mushroom sauce.  Meh.  I was really looking forward to the kitschy moulded-ness of this one. Catastrophic Noodle Ring Failure kind of took away my joy in this dish and turned what could have been a fabulously weird noodle-bundt into a boring old plate o' noodles.  Boo-urns.

So great is my disappointment, that I'm going to post some cool mid-week cookbook artwork just to make up for it.  Look for it on Wednesday, or pester me if I haven't posted it by then!

Baked Mushroom Noodle Ring

8 oz. pkt. ribbon noodles

1 egg

salt and pepper

8 oz. mushrooms
1 oz. flour
1 oz. butter
1/4 pint milk
1 chicken stock cube
2 tbsp. corn oil


Cook the noodles in plenty of boiling salted water until just tender. Lightly beat the egg with a little salt and pepper.  Drain and rinse the noodles in fresh boiling water.  Drain again, and stir the egg into the hot  noodles.  Reheat, stirring gently, with the oil.  When the egg starts to cook transfer at once to an oiled ring mould.  Press in firmly, leave for a minute, then turn out on to an ovenproof serving dish.  Chop mushrooms, cook lightly in the butter, stir in the flour, and make into a smooth sauce with the milk and stock cube dissolved in 4 tablespoons boiling water.  Pour the mushroom sauce into the noodle ring and bake in the oven 400° for 10 minutes.  Serves 4.