What's in season? Five ways to use mushrooms in your midweek dinner

Versatile and substantial, mushrooms are perfect for a variety of main-course recipes, like risotto, omelettes, and patata bravas

Champignon mushrooms: a versatile and flavourful favourite

Joe Swash’s mushroom risotto

recipe by:Joe Swash

A delicious risotto for after-school dinners

Servings

5

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 1tbsp olive oil

• 50g butter

• 1 small onion or shallot, finely chopped

• 1 leek, finely chopped

• 300g mushrooms (white/button/cremini/chestnut), finely chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, very finely chopped

• 1 large sprig of thyme, leaves picked

• 400g risotto rice

• 100ml white wine or Vermouth

• 1.5L chicken or mushroom stock

• 50g Parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve

• Salt and black pepper

• To garnish:

• 15g butter

• 250g mixed mushrooms, sliced if large

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped

Method

1. Heat the olive oil and half the butter in a large sauté pan. Add the onion or shallot and the leek and cook very gently, stirring regularly, until soft and translucent.

2. Add the mushrooms to the pan. Turn up the heat and fry until they have given out their liquid and look dry but glossy. Add the garlic and thyme and stir for a couple more minutes.

3. Add the rice and stir for a couple of minutes until glossy with butter. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the wine or Vermouth and let it bubble away until almost completely evaporated.

4. Add a large ladleful of the hot stock. Stir constantly but slowly until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice, then continue to add ladlefuls of stock in the same way until the rice has plumped up and is al dente and the sauce around it is creamy. You may have a small amount of the stock left.

5. Add the remaining butter and the Parmesan and beat it into the risotto – this will make the risotto extra creamy. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Cover and keep warm.

6. Place a frying pan over a high heat and add the butter. When it is foaming, add the mixed mushrooms and fry them very quickly until well browned. Add the garlic and stir for a couple of minutes, then season with salt and pepper.

7. Serve the risotto garnished with the mushrooms and more grated Parmesan for people to add at the table.

Chestnut and wild mushroom soup

recipe by:Neven Maguire

You can make this Christmas soup ahead of time - it's the perfect stress-free starter

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 60 mins

Course

 Starter

Ingredients

• 50g dried mixed wild mushrooms, crushed

• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil

• 450g peeled chestnuts (canned or vacuum-packed), chopped

• 1 large onion, finely chopped

• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

• 50ml Madeira wine

• 1.2 litres chicken or vegetable stock

• 200ml cream

• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• snipped fresh chives, to garnish

• fresh micro herbs, to garnish

Method

1. Put the dried wild mushrooms in a heatproof bowl and pour 400ml (14 fl oz) of boiling water over to cover. Set aside for 20 minutes, until they have plumped up. Drain the mushrooms and gently squeeze dry, reserving the soaking liquid.

2. Heat a large pan and add the oil. Add the chestnuts, the onion and drained wild mushrooms and sweat gently for 10 minutes, until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Season to taste.

3. Add the thyme to the pan with the reserved soaking liquid, madeira wine and the stock, stirring to combine. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for another 20 minutes. Stir in the cream and allow to heat through for 1 minute, then whizz with a hand-held blender until as smooth as possible.

4. Season to taste, then blend again until light and foamy, tilting the pan to get the maximum effect.

5. To serve, ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Garnish each one with the chives and micro herbs.

Mushroom omelette with wild garlic pesto

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

It is the start of wild garlic season here in Ireland so if you know of a patch, get out there and pick some. We usually take walk down to Phoenix Park where there are several good spots for wild garlic foraging. Some might say omelettes are a little basi

Servings

1

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 5 mins

Total Time

 15 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Italian

Ingredients

• 3 organic eggs

• 50g butter

• 50ml double cream

• 100g mixed mushrooms, sliced thinly (chestnuts, oysters, chantarelles)

• 40g Gruyere

• Handful of parsley

• Sea salt and black pepper

• for the wild garlic pesto:

• 75g wild garlic, stalks removed

• 30g parsley, stalks removed

• juice of ½ lemon

• 80ml rapeseed oil

• 30g

• Parmesan

• 30g walnuts

• Salt and pepper

Method

1. First, make the pesto. In a food processor, blitz the ingredients for the pesto all together until a smooth paste is formed. You may also of course use a pestle and mortar for more rustic results. Decant into a sterilised jar and pour a little rapeseed oil over the top to seal. Refrigerate until needed.

2. Whisk together the eggs and cream in a bowl and season. Heat the butter in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. When the butter is bubbling add the mushrooms to the pan and fry for a few minutes until the mushroom start to become crispy.

3. Pour in the egg mixture and after a few seconds scatter over the gruyere. Push the cooked edges of the omelette to the centre of the pan, leaving some of the uncooked egg to cook along the edges.

4. Add a little more seasoning along with the chopped parsley. Flip over once, then twice until it is almost in a roll at one side of the pan, lastly flip over completely onto a warm plate.

5. Drizzle a little wild garlic pesto over it and serve with buttered toast.
   
   Picture: Bríd O'Donovan

Mushroom miso broth

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

This is one of my absolutely favourite things to make when I have a couple different varieties of mushrooms at hand. For this, I use a mixture of dried and fresh mushrooms.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 45 mins

Total Time

 55 mins

Course

 Starter

Cuisine

 Japanese

Ingredients

• 12 dried shiitake mushrooms

• 2-3 large king oysters, thinly sliced

• Bunch of maitake or hen-of-the-woods, broken up with hands

• White beech, larger pieces thinly sliced, small heads left whole

• Handful of coriander, roughly chopped

• 1 carrot, finely diced

• 1 stick of celery, diced

• 4 tsp miso paste

• 125g silken tofu, cubed

• Soy sauce

• Vegetable oil

Method

1. Soak the shiitake mushrooms in 1 litre of boiling water for around 15 minutes. In a large pot, heat a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil over medium-high and add the carrot and celery to the pot. Cook in the oil for around 5 minutes and then add the sliced king oyster mushrooms and larger white beech slices.

2. Stir everything together for a minute or two and then pour in one litre of boiling water along with the soaked shiitake mushrooms and the liquid they soaked in, making two litres altogether. Cover the pan and let simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Dissolve the miso paste in a little bowl with boiling water and pour it into the broth. Take the pan off the heat and add the smaller white beech and maitake mushrooms along with the cubes of tofu. Stir in a few tablespoons of soy sauce to taste and finally garnish with your chopped coriander.
   
   Picture: Bríd O'Donovan

Patatas bravas and baked mushrooms

recipe by:Neven Maguire

Perfect on their own or served as part of a tapas spread

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 40 mins

Total Time

 60 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Spanish

Ingredients

• For the patatas bravas:

• 4-6 large rooster potatoes, skin on and cut into wedges

• Sea salt

• 3-4 rosemary sprigs

• 3 cloves of garlic, skin on

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 large shallot, finely diced

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• ¼ tsp chilli flakes

• 3-4 roasted red peppers, scraped and cleaned

• 1 tbsp tomato purée

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 200g chopped tomatoes

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• For the mushrooms:

• 4 large portobello mushrooms, clean and stalk removed

• 120g sobrasada sausage/chorizo sausage,

• 25g pine nuts

• 1 lemon, zest only

• 20g dried panko breadcrumbs

• 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

• Olive oil

• Sea salt

• 2 tbsp mayonnaise

•  

Method

1. First make the patatas bravas. Preheat the oven to 180°C ( 350°F/Gas Mark 4).

2. Place the cut potato wedges on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

3. Drizzle with olive oil and scatter over the rosemary sprigs and garlic.

4. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes & turn over and cook for a further 10-12 minutes until cooked through and golden.

5. Heat a pot over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Add in the diced shallot and crushed garlic followed by the chilli flakes. Mix well and add in the roasted red peppers and the tomato puree and increase the heat. Sprinkle in the smoked paprika and the chopped tomatoes.

6. Stir to combine everything and break up the roasted red peppers using the back of the spoon. Allow to cook for 12-15 minutes on a low heat. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper. If the sauce begins to dry add a spoon of water. Once cooked, remove from the heat and allow to cool

7. When serving the patatas bravas mix 2 spoonfuls of the prepared tomato sauce along with the mayonnaise. Serve the cooked potatoes in a bowl alongside the tomato dip.

8. Next make the mushrooms. Pre heat the oven to 180°C ( 350°F/Gas Mark 4).

9. Place the mushrooms on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

10. If using the sobrasada sausage, using a fork break it up and mash. If using chorizo sausage diced into bite-size pieces.

11. Carefully divide the sausage amongst each of the mushrooms, pressing down firmly. Scatter over the pine nuts & grate the lemon zest over each one. Drizzle over a little olive oil and sprinkle over the panko breadcrumbs followed by the chopped parsley.

12. Finish with freshly ground black pepper. Place in the oven to bake for 18-20 minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked through.