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A smell of oranges and the crunch of fresh linen as light slips through the window. It happens seldom – only on special Sundays. Time for brunch. A luscious, languid meal with friends. A time for gathering, for celebrating, for indulgence, brunch is communal, relaxed, inventive – sheer bliss…
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WILD MUSHROOM SALAD serves 4
What You Need 250g of mixed salad leaves, according to whatever’s available in the season300g of wild mushrooms, washed and dried 30g of butter 2 tablespoons of olive oil 1/2 cup of dry white wine A pinch of saffron threads A light vinaigrette dressing Salt and pepper to season Fresh coriander or other fresh herbs such as basil or broad-leaved parsley to garnish Here’s How Clean your salad leaves and dry either in a tea towel or in a basket. Pop them into the refrigerator to crisp up. Slice the mushrooms and, if you’re going to cook them fry them very quickly over a gentle heat, just until they begin to look juicy. Then add the wine and the saffron to help the flavors combine. Remove from the heat and cool. If you’re going to use your mushrooms raw, then simply wash them well, slice them and, after reconstituting any dried mushrooms that you’re going to use, you’re ready to go. Put your salad leaves into the bowl and toss with a light vinaigrette dressing, then add your mushrooms, either cooked or uncooked and pour on the rest of the dressing. Add some very coarsely ground black pepper and Maldon salt to season and serve. |
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Easy to make, delicious and health-enhancing, wild mushroom salad is a winner at brunch, lunch or tea. If you know your mushrooms, it’s great fun to go out at the first damp of autumn weather and hunt them. If you don’t know your mushrooms, buy yourself a little book to make sure that you can tell an edible mushroom from a poisonous one. Otherwise, buy your mushrooms – even the wild ones – in the market. I like to mix wild mushrooms with shiitaki, reishi and maitake mushrooms – which I buy fresh if I can, but as often as not I am forced to use the dry ones instead. Dried mushrooms are easy to prepare. Pop them into a pot and cover them with water then bring them to a boil and simmer for about 15–20 minutes. Drain the mushrooms. Now they are ready for use in any recipe. Don’t throw the stock away. It’s a wonderful source of nutrients which, like mushrooms themselves, strengthen the immune system and prevent degeneration. I make my wild mushroom salads with as many mushrooms as are available at the time. I think nothing whatever of mixing together two or three varieties, or even up to six if I can get hold of them. I always use a light dressing on a mushroom salad because the mushrooms themselves are so rich that it makes a beautiful contrast, and I often mix them with a crunchy or spiky lettuce such as frisée, otherwise known as curly endive, or even with rocket. Usually I quick-fry my mushrooms in a little bit of butter or olive oil over a gentle heat just to bring out the flavor. But other times I eat them raw. Try both and see which you like best. |
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Wonderful life-giving foods, and information about what some of them can do to help prevent premature aging, protect you from degenerative conditions such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease, enhance your mood, intensify your delight in love-making, even encourage sleep inspired me to write Cook Energy, for help for all of these things is to be found in delicious foods. Recipe This Week Archives |
