EVERY week is vegetarian week when you love mushrooms. Here are four delicious and healthy new recipes from The South African Mushroom Farmers’ Association for you to try during National Vegetarian Week.
Buttons & Beans on Toast
Serves 4
Ingredients
- Breadcrumb topping:
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 50g / ½ cup breadcrumbs
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 Tbsp Italian parsley, roughly chopped
- Then, 1 large white onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 x 400g tins butter beans, drained and rinsed
- ± 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 250ml chicken or vegetable stock
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2 Tbsp fresh dill sprigs
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 250g white button mushrooms, sliced
- 4 thick cut slices of sourdough bread
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Method
- For the breadcrumb topping:
- Melt butter in a frying pan. When sizzling add the breadcrumbs.
- Cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown.
- Remove from the heat and place in a small bowl with the lemon zest and parsley.
- Season to taste and mix well. Set aside.
- Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large frying pan.
- Add the onion and cook until tender.
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add the drained beans, fresh thyme and stock.
- Bring to a simmer.
- Simmer until the beans are very tender and the liquid has reduced.
- Crush a few beans as you stir to add more body to the sauce.
- Switch the heat off and add the lemon juice and dill. Stir.
- Heat the butter with a little drizzle of olive oil in a large frying pan.
- Add the sliced mushrooms and cook on high heat until just golden brown and still juicy and tender. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Brush the slices of sourdough with olive oil and season with salt.
- Pan fry until golden brown and crisp on both sides.
- Stir the mushrooms into the beans just before plating up.
- Serve generous spoonfuls of mushrooms and beans over the sourdough.
- Finish with a sprinkle of the crispy, crunchy lemony breadcrumb topping and fresh dill sprigs.
Fully Loaded Breakfast Tacos
Makes 2 large tacos
Ingredients
- 1 cup baby button mushrooms, sliced in half
- 1 cup white button mushrooms, sliced
- ½ cup black beans, rinsed & drained
- ½ cup corn, fresh or frozen
- 1 tsp Mexican / Taco spice
- 4 eggs
- 1 Tbsp butter
- ½ avocado, sliced
- ⅛ red onion, finely sliced
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1 small fresh chilli, finely sliced
- 2 large flour tortillas
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Fresh lime wedges, for serving
Method
- Fry mushrooms in a drizzle of olive oil until golden brown. Season with salt, pepper and taco spice. Add black beans and corn and stir together until hot and flavours have mixed. Set aside and keep warm.
- Scramble eggs in simmering butter until done to your liking. Season. Keep warm.
- Prep the rest of your taco toppings.
- Toast your flour tortillas over a gas burner using tongs until charred on the edges and warm throughout. If you do not have a gas hob toast the tortillas in a dry pan until warm.
- Assemble the tacos by layering with the scrambled eggs, mushroom, bean and corn mix, fresh avocado, tomatoes, red onion and chilli.
- Squeeze over some lime juice and serve.
Mushroom & Lemon Risotto
Served with Six Dogs Brandy
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
- Risotto base:
- 2 litres mushroom stock
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 onion/2 shallots, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 2 cups arborio rice
- 250ml dry white wine / or a splash of brandy
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- To finish off the risotto:
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 50g butter, cut into cubes
- 60g Parmesan, finely grated
- Mushrooms:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 500g mixed cultivated mushrooms, sliced
- 5 sprigs thyme
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- To serve: Parmesan shavings, micro herbs and lemon zest
Method
- Keep mushroom stock warm in a pot on the stove.
- For the risotto base:
- Heat olive oil and butter in a large pot. Add onion and a pinch of salt and cook until the onion is very soft. Add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook until fragrant.
- Add rice and stir well. Toast the rice until the grains are translucent around the edges and beginning to brown. Add wine and stir until wine is completely absorbed.
- Reduce heat to medium low, and ladle in hot mushroom stock stirring constantly and allowing liquid to absorb fully before adding more. Keep adding stock until rice is creamy but remains al dente. Adjust seasoning.
- Switch off the heat. Stir through the lemon zest. Add the final butter and parmesan.
- Stir quickly and then place the lid on the pot and leave until serving.
- For the mushrooms:
- Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.
- Cook, tossing occasionally, until golden browned and tender.
- Add thyme, garlic, and butter and cook until garlic softens and butter is golden brown.
- Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Toss to coat and discard the thyme sprigs.
- Divide risotto among bowls. Top each with a few spoonfuls of mushroom mixture.
- Serve with micro herbs, an extra grating of lemon zest and Parmesan.
Lentil & Mushroom Stew on Butter Bean Mash
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups brown lentils
- 5 cups mushroom stock
- 1 bunch fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 onion, diced
- 500g portabellini mushrooms, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
- 1 x 400g tin diced tomatoes
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Butter bean mash:
- 2 x 400g tins of butter beans, rinsed & drained
- 1 small clove garlic, grated finely
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 4 Tbsp / 60ml olive oil
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- Chopped parsley or micro herbs, for serving
Method
- To make the mash, add all the ingredients to a food processor.
- Blitz until completely smooth, adding a little water if you want to thin it out.
- To warm up – transfer to a saucepan over low heat and stir until warmed through.
- Taste to adjust seasoning.
- For the lentil stew:
- Rinse lentils well. Place in a large pot or Dutch oven and add the mushroom stock and thyme.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook with lid ajar for about 25 minutes until tender. If you need to give them a little liquid top up add some boiling water from the kettle.
- Discard the thyme sprigs.
- Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large sauté pan.
- Add onion and mushrooms. Season lightly and cook until the onion softens and mushrooms are golden. Add garlic, tomato paste and chilli flakes. Cook until tomato paste turns a deep dark red colour and smells sweet.
- Pour in the tinned tomato and deglaze the bottom of the pan.
- Add the cooked lentils and all their liquid. Mix everything well together.
- Taste to adjust seasoning
- Serve stew on warmed butter bean mash and sprinkle with micro herbs.
