This weekend, we are talking about the mighty mushroom.
Whilst they are not in season right now for the wild varieties, most of the mushrooms we eat have been grown commercially indoors, allowing us to eat them all year round.
The beautiful thing about mushrooms is, yes the wild varieties may taste somewhat better and have a deeper depth of flavour, commercially grown mushrooms are pretty close.
In saying that, New Zealand seems to only have a couple commercial options available from supermarkets: Buttons and Fields
In saying that there's over 100 varieties in the wild, you just need to know what is safe and what's not? There's a number of websites that can help you find mushrooms that are safe to eat but this one is quite handy: NZ mushrooms.
We also have a mushroom expert coming to the school on Saturday for our first Farm Day of the year. So if you're interested in the mighty fungi, pop out and have a chat if you have the time.
Roasted mushroom, garlic and parmesan pasta
Cook time: 25 minutes
Prep time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4
500gm pasta
12 field mushrooms
10 garlic cloves, crushed
4 Tbsp grapeseed oil
6 broccolini stems
100gm Parmesan cheese
Flaky salt freshly
Ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 180*C.
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Remove the outer leaves of the broccolini, then drop it into the water. Remove after 30 seconds and plunge into an ice bath. Bring the water back up to the boil and cook the pasta as per packet instructions.
Peel the field mushrooms and put in a roasting tray with the crushed garlic cloves. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and cook for 30 minutes.
Allow the garlic to cool slightly then squeeze out the flesh. Put half of the garlic in a food processor with all of the mushrooms and a tbsp of grapeseed oil, seasalt and pepper. Blitz until combined.
Heat a frying pan, add the mushroom puree and cooked pasta and toss to coat the pasta evenly. Finally add the broccolini and roasted garlic cloves until just heated through.
Serve in small bowls with some finely grated parmesan cheese and chili sauce!
Mike’s website – goodfromscratch.co.nz
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