The Magic of Mushrooms

MAKING MAGNIFICENT MUSHROOMS

Mushrooms are one of the nation’s favourite vegetables as they’re packed full of goodness,
flavour and provide a cheap and tasty way to bulk up any meal. However, most people
are not cooking their mushrooms properly. Celebrity chef and Something for the Weekend
presenter Simon Rimmer has partnered up with Monaghan Mushrooms to offer some top
tips and mouth-watering recipes to ensure your mushrooms are magnificent every time.
Simon Rimmer’s Top Tips for Cooking Mushrooms
Simon says: “Mushrooms are tasty, great value and an easy to cook ingredient that adds
extra flavour to a wide variety of meals – but it’s such a shame that so many of us don’t know
the best way to cook them! Mushrooms should be fried in a very hot pan to seal in moisture
and create a lovely crispy texture. Make sure your pan is almost smoking hot before adding
the mushrooms to it.
“To ensure you’re getting a really good temperature for frying mushrooms, it’s essential to
have the right kind of pan. A good quality, heavy-based pan is best for conducting heat and
keeping your pan hotter for longer.”
CREAMY TARRAGON AND PANCETTA MUSHROOMS ON TOASTED BRIOCHE WITH
WATERCRESS
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
140g white button mushrooms
60g chestnut mushrooms
2 tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon
1 clove of garlic crushed
2 slices of toasted brioche
Small bunch of watercress
2 tbsp. Crème Fraiche
1 knob of butter
Splash of sunflower oil
Salt and pepper
70g cubed pancetta (optional)
Method:
1. Make sure the mushrooms are clean by gently brushing any dirt of with a clean, damp
cloth or soft brush. Chop the mushrooms into quarters
2. Using a non-stick frying pan, heat the butter and sunflower oil over a high heat. Make
sure the pan is almost smoking hot before adding in the mushrooms.
3. Cook for around 3 minutes before adding in the crushed garlic and - slightly reducing
the temperature - continue cooking for a further 2 minutes. Stir in the Crème Fraiche,
tarragon and season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. While the mushrooms are cooking, toast the brioche on both sides under a hot grill. If
serving with pancetta heat a second non-stick pan and crisp the pancetta using a splash
of sunflower oil.
5. To finish, top each slice of brioche with some of the watercress and half of the
mushrooms. If using pancetta, sprinkle each with the pancetta.


Here are some more fun facts from Monaghan Mushrooms:1. There are 38,000 kinds of mushrooms in the world, three quarters of which are edible
2. Mushrooms are not seasonal; they can be grown and enjoyed all year round
3. France was the first country to cultivate mushrooms on a commercial basis in the late
19th century
4. King Louis XIII loved mushrooms so much, he arranged for 2,400 kilometres of earth-
covered compost beds to be created in caves outside of Paris
5. Romans were so convinced of the strengthening powers of mushrooms that they fed
them to their soldiers just before battle