Magical Mushrooms

I went a bit crazy cooking at the weekend. This time not with cakes though. Still trying to steer clear of cakes. Not having entire success on that one but vegetables have been a good distraction. Here are some mushrooms that worked their magic on us....

MEDITERRANEAN MUSHROOMS WITH RED PEPPER VIERGE

This is a great vegetarian starter or lunch. The mushrooms would also be perfect for a dinner party, re-warmed through on the BBQ or even frozen for another time. Fry streaky bacon or panchetta pieces with the onions for a non-vegetarian version. Chopped olives would be nice in this too. The mushrooms are delicious served with a red pepper vierge. This sounds a little fancy. It’s really easy so don’t be thrown by the cheffy term! It is usually made with skinned and diced tomatoes but I have made a red pepper version.

Serves 4

MUSHROOMS

25g unsalted butter

1 tbsp olive oil

4 portobello or flat breakfast mushrooms

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

125g fine white breadcrumbs

50g semi-sundried tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

1 tbsp finely snipped chives

25g finely grated parmesan

75g soft cheese like Goats, Brie or Corleggy

RED PEPPER VIERGE

75ml extra virgin olive oil

1 small red pepper, finely chopped

1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

1 tbsp finely snipped chives

wild rocket leaves to serve

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 220C (425F / Gas Mark7).

Melt the butter with the oil in a saute pan over a medium heat. Pop the stalks out of the mushrooms and finely chop them (the stalks!). Saute them with the onion and garlic for 4-5 minutes until softened.

In the meantime, toss the breadcrumbs, semi-sundried tomatoes, parsley, chives and parmesan together in a large bowl. Crumble the cheese in and then toss through with the cooked onion mixture. Season to taste.

Arrange the mushrooms on a baking sheet, underside up. Pile the crumb mixture on top, pressing it down a little as you go. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the mushrooms have wilted a little and the crumb topping is crisp and golden.

In the meantime, make the red pepper vierge. Simply warm the oil through in a small saucepan for a few minutes. Add the red pepper and allow to cook very gently for 3-4 minutes before removing from the heat. Stir the parsley and chives through.

To serve, spoon the red pepper vierge around each serving plate. Sit a stuffed mushroom in the centre and pile some rocket on top.