MUSHROOMS are astonishing in their versatility as you’ll see from this small selection of recipes from the SA Mushroom Farmers’ Association. Bake them, put them in a warm salad or a casserole – and this is just a tiny titbit of what you can do with this remarkable vegetable. Click here for more fabulous ideas.
ROASTED MUSHROOM, FENNEL & GRAPE SALAD
Ingredients
- 4 medium fennel bulbs
- 500g pink grapes, seedless
- 500g white button mushrooms, sliced in half
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 300g mixed leaf lettuce of choice
- Handful Italian parsley leaves
- Handful fennel fronds, for garnish
- Salt and crushed pink peppercorns, to taste
- Olive oil, for cooking
Method
- Preheat oven to 200˚C, fan on.
- Slice the fennel bulbs into chunky thick slices.
- Arrange the slices on a large baking tray in a single layer.
- Drizzle a little olive oil over the fennel and season well with salt and pepper.
- Roast for about 25 minutes until the fennel is very tender and golden.
- Remove the fennel from the baking tray and keep at room temperature. (If your oven is large enough you can roast all veg simultaneously)
- Using scissors, slice grapes into small bunches.
- Add the grapes to the baking tray and season with a little salt and pepper.
- Bake for 10 minutes until just blistering.
- Toss mushrooms in a bowl with the olive oil, garlic, red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard.
- Season lightly and mix well.
- Add the mushrooms to the roasting tray of grapes and continue to roast together until the mushrooms are tender and the grapes are soft and juicy, about 7 minutes.
- Allow mushrooms and grapes to cool slightly to avoid making the lettuce wilt.
- To serve, combine lettuce and parsley on a serving platter.
- Tuck the roasted fennel amongst the leaves.
- Dot the roasted grapes in little bunches all over the salad and finish with the mushrooms.
- Drizzle over a little of the roasting juices as a dressing.
- Garnish with pink peppercorns and fennel fronds and serve warm.
BAKED MUSHROOM BROWN RICE
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 ½ cups long grain brown rice
- 2 ½ cups water, boiled
- 1 tsp salt
- 500g mixed cultivated mushrooms, sliced into similar sized big chunks
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 bunch fresh thyme sprigs
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Micro herbs, to serve
- Lemon wedges, to serve
Method
- Preheat oven to 180˚C.
- Heat the olive oil in a 26cm saucepan with a lid/buffet casserole.
- Add the onion and cook until soft.
- Add the rice and coat in the onion and olive oil.
- Pour the boiling water into the dish and sprinkle over the teaspoon of salt.
- Stir briefly just to mix and then cover tightly with aluminium foil.
- Place the pan lid on top to ensure the seal is tight.
- Bake in the oven for 50 minutes.
- While the rice is baking combine the mushrooms in a bowl with the olive oil, garlic, soy, balsamic and thyme. Season lightly and mix well.
- After 50 minutes, remove the lid and foil from the rice.
- Fluff the rice with a fork.
- Spoon the mushrooms on top of the rice and turn oven up to 200˚C.
- Bake mushrooms on top of the rice for 10-15 minutes until mushrooms are tender and juicy.
- Zest the lemon over the entire dish and squeeze over some lemon juice.
- Top with micro herbs and serve family style in the pan on the table, with lemon wedges on the side.
DAIRY FREE CREAMY CHICKEN & MUSHROOM CASSEROLE
Ingredients
- 4 free-range chicken breasts
- 250g portabellini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 white onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp ground almonds/almond flour
- 4 Tbsp nut butter, eg cashew or almond
- 175ml almond or oat milk, warm
- 375ml chicken stock, just boiled
- 1 tsp dried herbs
- 1 bunch Tuscan kale/cavolo nero
- 100g sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Olive oil, for cooking
Method
- Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large buffet casserole / saucepan.
- Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and then sear until golden brown all over.
- Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook until golden brown.
- Remove and set aside.
- Add the onion to the pan with a pinch of salt and cook until soft.
- While the onion is cooking – combine the nut butter, almond milk and chicken stock in a large jug. Whisk until well combined and smooth.
- Add the garlic to the onion and cook until fragrant.
- Sprinkle over the almond flour and mix well.
- Pour in the nut butter and stock mixture.
- Sprinkle in the dried herbs.
- Bring to a gentle simmer and add the kale.
- Simmer until thickened.
- Return the chicken to the pan to cook through.
- When the chicken is almost done add the mushrooms back into the mix and stir to heat through. Finish with the sun-dried tomatoes for a pop of colour and acidity.
- Serve the saucy creamy casserole with a fresh green salad on the side.