Season of mists and mushrooms

Photo: awee_19/flickr creative commons

By Jan Cheshire

IT’S autumn once more, my favourite time of the year, and it comes with all its goodies from the garden.  Pumpkins, apples, figs, sweet corn, quince and one of our great favourites – mushrooms.  I like the flavour of portobello mushrooms and they can be good just fried in oil or butter as an accompaniment to a main meal.  

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This recipe could even be a meal on its own with a couple more mushrooms.  The mushrooms go very well with a nice juicy steak or lamb chops. I receive praise for it every time I cook it.  It’s an old Jamie Oliver recipe which I have tweaked a bit.

BAKED MUSHROOMS WITH GARLIC AND THYME
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 good handful of fresh thyme leaves
A pinch of dried chilli (optional)
2 cloves of garlic peeled and finely sliced
Juice of 1 lemon
1-2 tablespoons of a good olive oil
4-8 large Portobello mushrooms
1 knob of butter
Salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees.
2. Pound the thyme, chilli (if using) and a little of the garlic in a mortar and pestle if you have one. If not, crush with the back of a wooden spoon.  Mix in the lemon juice and add the olive oil.
3. I usually remove the stems and chop them up and cook them with the mushrooms but you can leave them intact if you wish.
4. Rub this mixture over the mushrooms and make sure you use all the oil.
5. Tightly pack the mushrooms bottom side up in an ovenproof dish or roasting tray.
6. With a knife make 2-3 little slits over each mushroom. Insert a slice of garlic into each slit.
7. Dot the butter over the mushrooms.
8. Season and bake for around 15-25 minutes.
9. Sometimes I crumble  some feta cheese or goat’s cheese over the mushrooms and let them bake for a few more minutes.

Enjoy!