Time to make the most of mushroom season with these warming, soothing dishes
Nigel SlaterSun 13 Oct 2024 05.30 EDTLast modified on Sun 13 Oct 2024 13.29 EDTShareDeepest autumn, a damp morning. We returned from mushrooming, walking home with barely more than a handful of soft brown fungi and fried them in a pan of butter with a fistful of chopped tarragon and a squeeze of lemon. We ate them daringly, foolishly, not really knowing what we’d picked.
I am older and more sensible now and live far away from the woods in which we once foraged, or the golf courses where we hunted for mushrooms of another kind, with crooked stems and fairy hats for wasted Sunday afternoons.
Now, my gathering is done from the greengrocers, where mushrooms are sold in boxes, field mushrooms the size of saucers, rounded cups like chestnuts and others, packed in clusters and imprisoned in cellophane. There are fresh shiitake, too, more subtle than the dried ones with their overload of umami.
The shimeji I bought today, fairytale fungi to fill tiny tarts of cheese-scented custard and herbs, remind me of the fun we had picking from the woods, but I could have used brown button mushrooms instead.
These are far easier to locate and also cheaper. There will be fried shiitake later, with a honey-coloured sauce of miso and ginger, sitting atop a bowl of sticky rice. Delicious, though without the added seasoning of a supper we have foraged for.
Mushroom tartsAs much as I like bringing a large tart to the table for everyone to share, there is something pleasing about having a small one all to oneself. I use 8cm pastry rings, rather than tart cases, but just use whatever you have, making certain to push the pastry deep into the corners. Makes 8 x 8-9cm tarts. Ready in 1.5 hours.
For the pastry: plain flour 180gbutter 90gegg yolk 1 For the filling:double cream 200mlparmesan rind about a 50g piecesmall mushrooms, such as shimeji, girolles or button 250golive oil 3 tbspdill 5gthyme 5gtarragon 5geggs 2, medium
You will need 2 baking sheets and 8 tart tins, each measuring 8-9cm in diameter, and 2-3cm in height.
Put the flour into a food processor, add the butter in small pieces, then process to fine crumbs. Add the egg yolk, a generous pinch of salt and enough water to make a rollable dough (2 or 3 tbsp). Turn the dough out on to a board, pat into a ball and wrap in kitchen paper, then set to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Make the filling: pour the cream into a medium-sized saucepan, then add the piece of parmesan rind to it and bring to the boil. Watch carefully, removing the cream from the heat immediately when it starts to boil, then cover with a lid and set aside.
If you are using button mushrooms, slice them thinly. Trim the roots of shimeji or other small mushrooms. Warm the oil in a small, shallow pan. Fry the mushrooms for a couple of minutes until they are glossy. Chop the herbs and toss with the mushrooms and set aside.
Remove the pastry from the fridge, then roll out into a large rectangle, big enough to cut 8 x 11cm discs. (You may prefer to cut the ball of dough into 12, then roll each ball out individually, I often take that route.) Using a side plate or saucer measuring 10-11cm, cut out 6 discs of pastry. Line the tartlet cases, pushing the pastry into the corners and up the sides of the tins. Trim any excess pastry. Put them on a baking sheet and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6 and place an upturned baking sheet on the middle shelf to heat up. You will place the other baking sheet on top of this.
Fill each tart case with a piece of baking parchment or foil (you can either screw it into a ball or weigh it down with baking beans). Bake for 20 minutes, then carefully remove the paper or foil and beans and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes until dry to the touch.
Lower the heat to 180C/gas mark 4. Break the eggs into a bowl and beat gently, then add the cream (removing the parmesan rind). Season with salt and pepper, add the fried mushrooms, fill the pastry cases and bake for 25 minutes until lightly set, puffed and golden.
Miso mushrooms
View image in fullscreen‘Serve when the sauce is bubbling: miso mushrooms. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin/The ObserverA bowl of sticky white rice would be good here. Serves 2. Ready in 30 minutes
shiitake mushrooms 150g, freshred or yellow pepper 1vegetable oil 2 tbsp white miso paste 2 heaped tbspmirin 2 tbsprice vinegar 1 tbspgarlic 2 clovesginger 40g piecewater 100ml
Check the shiitake, removing any tough ends to the stalks. Cut the pepper in half, then into thin strips. Warm the oil in a shallow pan or wok and fry the peppers over a moderate heat for a good 7 or 8 minutes until they soften and colour a little. Then add the shiitake and continue cooking.
Put the miso paste into a medium-sized mixing bowl, then stir in the mirin and rice vinegar. Peel the garlic cloves and crush them to a paste, either with a pinch of salt using a pestle and mortar or with the flat side of a heavy knife blade. Stir the garlic paste into the miso.
Peel the ginger and reduce to a purée with a fine-toothed grater. Stir into the miso mixture with the water. When the mushrooms are soft and thoroughly cooked, stir in the miso sauce and toss with the mushrooms. Serve when the sauce is bubbling.
