Mushrooms on toast

This is a quick light supper dish, that you could adapt at as starter.

Serves two

1 onion, chopped
125g mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Olive oil
10g unsalted butter
Pinch each of dried oregano and thyme
A dash of soy sauce
75g grated cheese (mixture of parmesan and manchego, or whatever is to hand)

4 very thick doorstep slices of wholemeal bread, crusts cut off

Mix the chopped mushrooms and garlic with a splash of soy sauce, and let the flavours mingle.  Put a frying pan on a medium heat, and add the butter and a lug of olive oil.  Add the onion and cook stirring for a couple of minutes until it starts to colour.  Empty the onion into a food processor.
Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for a few minutes until reduced in size and coloured.
When the mushrooms are done, put them into the food processor with the onion, bread crusts and half the cheese, and blitz to make a rough paste (optional - you could add a dash of truffle oil to the mixture).
Meanwhile, toast the bread under a moderate grill (brush the bread with some olive oil first if you like).
When the bread is lightly toasted, top each slice with a quarter of the mushroom mixture and a sprinkling of the rest of the cheese.  Pop back under the grill for a couple more minutes.
When done, plate up and garnish with a bit of seasonal salad leaves to serve.

nb, if doing this for a starter, reserve few cooked whole mushroom slices before the rest go into the blender, and put a couple on top of each finished piece of mushroom toast as garnish.

Mushroom and gruyere parcels (the return of)

This is an improved version of an earlier recipe (which I shall keep up here as a 'quick' version - this one takes longer to prepare).  These are great party food, and are popular at our Silent Film Club nights. 'The first rule of Silent Film Club is you do not talk about Silent Film Club...'!

Makes about 24 mini parcels

300g fresh mushrooms, sliced
10g dried porcini mushrooms
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, bruised and chopped
150g gruyere cheese, grated
handful of fresh chives, chopped
1 pack ready rolled puff pastry
15g unsalted butter
couple of dashes of soy sauce
olive oil
juice of half a lemon
1 beaten egg to glaze
salt and black pepper to taste

Rehydrate the dried mushrooms in just enough cold to cover an hour beforehand.
Heat a frying pan and add a lug of oil.  Fry the chopped onion over a medium-high heat until starting to caramelise.  Empty the fried onion into a bowl and set aside.
Turn the heat down a little and put the butter into the pan.  When foaming, add the chopped mushrooms and a dash of soy sauce. Cook, stirring frequently, over a medium heat until the mushrooms start to give up their moisture.  When they've started to colour and have reduced in size to about two thirds of their original volume, empty them into a bowl (with the onions) to cool. Depending on the size of your pan, you'll probably have to cook the mushrooms in a couple of batches.
Into a food blender, place the garlic, the onions and fried mushrooms, the rehydrated mushrooms and most of the hydrating liquid (leave the last bit as it will have sediment in it).  Pulse a few times in the blender until the mixture has a thick tapenade-like consistency.  Add the cheese, chives, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well.
Cut the pastry into about 24 squares and put a spoonful of the mushroom mixture onto the centre of each. Fold the corners up carefully to make each a little parcel (they may open up as 'crowns', but will still taste lovely). Brush with the beaten egg, and bake in a pre-heated oven (180 C) for about 25 or until golden brown.

(If you have any mushroom mixture left over, it goes well stirred through pasta.)

Mushroom, pine nut and spinach pie

Serves three hungry people or four polite people

3 big flat mushrooms, torn into chunks
2 big handfuls of spinach (about a colander full)
25g dried porcini muchrooms, rehydrated
Liquor from rehydrating the mushrooms
1 tbs pine nuts
25g plain flour
25g butter
500ml milk
1 pack ready rolled puff pastry
1 shallot, finely sliced
small amount of olive oil and butter (to fry the mushooms in)
1 clove garlic, peeled and bruised

Boil some water and pour over the spinach. Squeeze out the excess water, chop roughly and set aside.
Heat the oil and butter in a pan and fry the garlic until golden brown. Discard the garlic and add the shallots. Cook on a medium heat for five minutes. Add the ripped up mushrooms and cook for another five minutes.
Meanwhile, pour the mushroom liquor in a small pan and simmer to reduce to about a third of its original volume. Set aside.
Make a roux with the 25g each of butter and flour. Add the reduced mushroom liquor, stirring constantly. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly to make a smooth sauce.
Place all the mushrooms, spinach and pine nuts in an oven dish. Stir in the sauce and mix well, then cover with the pastry, make a few holes in the top and bake in a pre-heated oven (180C) for half an hour or until golden brown.

Serve with seasonal greens (such as steamed local asparagus, as in the picture) and a glass of Pinot Grigio.

If you have some pastry left over, why not make some cheese straws with a bit of parmesan, paprika and thyme?

Mushroom and artichoke salad

This is a quick and easy weekday supper. Serves two.

Three big handfuls of seasonal salad leaves
A big handful of chestnut or similar mushrooms, quartered
Big dash of soy sauce
75g (drained) artichoke heart antipasto
sprinkle of mixed seeds
Lug of olive oil or 10g unsalted butter

For the dressing:
Juice of half a lemon
1 tsp green pesto, or sprig of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1 tbs olive oil

Splash the soy sauce over the chopped mushrooms. Mix well to coat the mushrooms and leave to stand for several minutes. Meanwhile, heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan, add the mixed seeds and toast them gently until they're just starting to pop. Don't let them burn. Transfer them to a bowl and set aside.
Add the olive oil or butter to the frying pan and let it get to cooking temperature. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook them for about ten minutes, stirring frequently.
Meanwhile, make the dressing - put all the dressing ingredients in a lidded jar or other suitable container and shake well.
Place the salad leaves in a bowl, lay the artichoke hearts on top, then the cooked mushrooms. Drizzle the dressing over the top and sprinkle the toasted seeds.

Optional extras:
If you like, you can add some parmesan shavings; or half a finely sliced red onion, which has been left to marinate with a little sugar and splash of balsamic vinegar beforehand.