Autumn Mushrooms (‘shrooms!)

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21 April 2015 BY Ilaria Biuso
SERVES: 3-4

Ilaria Biuso

It's the magical mushroom season and I'm hooked! I’m addicted to mushrooms, or 'the ‘shrooms' as we call them!

Ingredients

8 good-sized open cap mushrooms 2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced 1 Tbsp of finely chopped fresh rosemary or thyme ½ cup freshly grated parmesan Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

It’s the magical mushroom season and I’m hooked! I’m addicted to mushrooms, or ‘the ‘shrooms’ as we call them! And I’ve got my boyfriend to thank for that!
Just about every Saturday morning I’m treated to a full fry-up breakfast that he makes for the both of us. The usual suspects are spicy cumin-laden eggs, bacon (he personally trims all the fat off my pieces… haha, I actually feel quite guilty for this… eep!), avocado and pesto, kumara bread, and last but not least, garlic mushrooms! It’s from these fry-ups that I’ve taken inspiration and chosen to fanc-ify the ‘shrooms further. Calling on a few staple Italian ingredients – garlic, rosemary and parmesan – these beauties are perfect as a side dish, or team them up with a salad for lunch, or add them to yer plate with a few roasties for a healthy vegie dinner.

1 To get the mushrooms underway, crank the oven up to 200°C (400°F), and line a shallow baking tray with baking paper (jellyroll pan type of thing and parchment paper if you’re in the US). Not only can you serve them ‘rustically’ in the baking tray itself, it also, and most importantly, makes the clean-up quicker!

2 Wipe the outer skin of the mushroom caps with damp paper towels to get off any little spooky bits of dust or whatever, and then brush with some of the oil (there will be some oil left for drizzling over the mushrooms before they go into the oven so they don’t dry out).

3 Transfer the ‘shrooms cap-side down to the baking tray and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

4 Sprinkle them with garlic and rosemary and top with the parmesan.

5 Drizzle with the remaining oil and pop the baking tray in the oven for 15 minutes! IT’S AS EASY AS THAT! When they’re ready, they’ll be tender and golden on top – I think they’re nicer hot so serve them ASAP!

And here’s another idea!

Top with creamy feta and chilli …

Prepare the mushrooms in the same manner as in the Autumn Shrooms recipe, however, after seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper, top them with coarsely chopped parsley, thinly sliced feta (I always mop the feta with paper towels to get rid of the excess liquid that floats around…), and a grind or two of dried red chillies, or sprinkle of chilli flakes. When I was testing these I also photographed them and thought the red chilli flakes would look nice in the photograph so I was rather generous with the chilli. Without thinking, I stuffed one in my mouth straight from the oven and I seriously nearly died!!! There was so much chilli on them and they were piping hot and the excessive steam just made the chilli burn worse haha. I couldn’t taste anything for the rest of the night! My lips burnt for so long and I had to take some time out, lie down on the couch and pat the kittykats (vigorously, to distract me). So don’t do that, be moderate, and wait till they are at a digestible temperature before tucking in, aye.

Anyway, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and bang them in the oven, a bit hotter this time (220°C/425°C), for about 15 minutes, and once they smell good and the cheese browns a little they’re good to go!

Photography by Ilaria Biuso