hate the word ‘superfood’, but mushrooms should be wearing mini capes. They’re packed with essential vitamins and antioxidants, and they taste amazing. As a meat-eater, they’re probably the closest plant-based thing I’ve eaten – texturally and flavour-wise – to measure up to a steak. My favourite way to cook them is boiling until the water runs dry, as this cooks them without losing moisture. Then, add whatever fat cookbook. “I’ve loved mushrooms for as long as I can remember,” he says. “My mother used to make creamy mushroom soup during the week and at weekends, and for celebrations we’d have stuffed mushrooms, creamy mushroom mince on croustades, mock snails and some kind of sauce or stew smelling of white wine.” His book isn’t about foraged mushrooms – and all the potential perils they can bring – but cultivated ‘shrooms, of which there’s now a more diverse selection on supermarket shelves. Chapters cover boiling, frying, roasting, barbecuing and deep-frying, plus pickling and dried mushies. But, which mushroom should you choose? Martin guides us through the types and their characteristics, from oysters to champignons (the most cultivated mushroom), and shiitake to black morels (my favourite). There are also the more familiar chestnuts, whites and buttons. For many of the recipes, I couldn’t find the specific mushroom recommended by Martin, but it didn’t matter – I cooked fried shiitake with peas & shallots, miso-roasted portobello with pesto, and porcini mushroom risotto – the results were delicious. For the recipe below, the book suggests just ‘mushrooms’. Combined with another of my favourite ingredients – brussels sprouts – it’s a recipe that could have come from Planet Krypton!
