Meat Free Monday

by

Mushrooms are a great choice for a healthy diet

One of my favourite TV cookery shows at the moment is Nigel’s Simple Suppers. I love to see how chef Nigel Slater whizzes up everyday store cupboard ingredients into a tasty midweek supper. In last week’s show, he made the most divine supper dish (or could be served as a starter/hors d’oeuvres)  from mushrooms, herbs and stale bread.  It is an economical way of making stuffed mushrooms, much cheaper than those pre-packed versions you find in supermarkets.

I love the meaty texture of mushrooms and this fungi has been prized as a delicacy from ancient times. The Romans regarded mushrooms as a gift from God and served them only on festive occasions, while the Chinese treasured them as a health food.

Mushrooms have very little sodium and fat, and 8 to 10 percent of the dry weight is fiber. They are an excellent source of potassium –  one medium portabella mushroom has even more potassium than a banana.

Crispy Herb Mushrooms

Ingredients

  • 100g/3½oz butter
  • olive oil
  • 10 medium-sized open mushrooms
  • 4 spring onions, roughly chopped
  • the leaves from a bushy sprig of rosemary
  • a large clove of garlic
  • 250g/9oz stale bread
  • the finely grated zest of a lemon
  • a handful of roughly chopped parsley
  • salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Warm 60g/2½oz of the butter and a little olive oil in a large non-stick frying or roasting pan. Put the mushrooms into the pan and leave to cook over a moderate heat.
  2. Meanwhile, in a second pan, put the remaining butter; let it melt then add the chopped spring onions and chopped rosemary leaves. Peel and finely chop the garlic, and add it to the second pan too.
  3. Turn the mushrooms over as soon as they have started to soften and colour.
  4. Tear up the bread and blitz to coarse breadcrumbs in a food processor. Tip the breadcrumbs into the spring onion mixture with the lemon zest and chopped parsley and fry until the breadcrumbs are crisp and golden-brown. Season generously with salt and black pepper.
  5. Transfer the mushrooms to a warm serving platter as soon as they are cooked then scatter over the breadcrumb mixture.
Category : Recipe
Tags : , , , , ,