mushroom

Creamy mushroom soup

| adamcockle

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So, my favorite local foodery, drinkery, playhouse and provider of caffeinated beverages – The Old Market Assembly – has added bakery to its CV (yummy bread here)  And what better way to sample a delicious sourdough loaf than with a bowl of creamy mushroom soup topped with creme fraiche, crispy bacon and sage leaves.

Ingredients:

Serves 2

  • 10 or so fresh sage leaves
  • 4 rashers of streaky bacon
  • 1tbps olive oil
  • 1tbsp butter
  • 1 medium onion (peeled and finely diced)
  • 650g of mushrooms (I used chestnut mushrooms and baby portobello)
  • Chicken or vegetable stock
  • 4tbsp double cream
  • 2tbsp creme fraiche
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Thick slices of yummy bread for dippin’

Method:

 

Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the bacon until crisp before removing to a piece of kitchen paper.  Add the butter to the same pan and fry the sage leaves until crisp – put aside with the bacon.

Add the onion to the pan and cook until translucent.  Next in with the mushrooms along with a pinch of salt and pepper (it will look like a LOT of mushrooms, but worry not, they will reduce down significantly).  Heat the mushrooms, stirring regularly until they are reduced and dark and the pan fairly dry.

Pour a little stock into the pan and use a stick blender to whizz everything up into a smooth paste.  Add more stock as you go until you achieve your desired consistency  (I like mine thick enough to stand a spoon up in, or build an exterior wall).   Stir in the double cream and add pepper (and perhaps more salt) to your taste.

Spoon into bowls and top with and dollup of creme fraiche, some bacon (chopped or crumbled) and a few crispy sage leaves.  If your bread is as good as mine (and your soup as thick) you won’t need a spoon to polish this off!

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Mushroom Risotto

| adamcockle

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Splash and stir, splash and stir, splash and stir.  Yes, risotto is an exercise in patience (or tedium), and yes, there comes a point about halfway through the cooking time when you wonder if its all worth it, but when you jam that first creamy, satisfying spoonful into your gob, you realise that your time has truly been well spent.  Also, this recipe has nuts, goats cheese and an ungodly amount of butter in it – how could you not??

Ingredients:

Serves 2

  • 150g risotto rice
  • 450ml light chicken or veg stock
  • 400g mushrooms (I used a mix of chestnut mushrooms and oyster mushrooms)
  • 1 generous pinch of dried porcini mushrooms (not essential, but adds a mega-burst of woodsy mushroom flavour)
  • 1 onions(peeled and very finely diced)
  • 1 clove garlic (peeled and finely chopped)
  • 75g walnut halves
  • 50g goats cheese
  • 50g parmesan cheese (finely grated)
  • A lot of butter (best to have a whole pack ready)

 

Method:

Put the stock in a saucepan on a medium heat to keep it warm.

Put the dried mushrooms into a small bowl and cover with boiling water from the kettle.

Toast the walnut halves in a hot dry pan until they start to darken and the room fills with the scent of toasted nuts.  Leave aside to cool.

Add a generous knob of butter (mushrooms love butter – I mean seriously, like Britney loved Justin) and a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and quickly stir in the garlic.  Before the garlic starts to darken ‘crumble’ in the mushrooms (simply break them up using your fingers – much quicker than chopping and gives you risotto a nice rustic look) and stir frequently.  It will look like an awful lot of mushrooms, but they will reduce as they cook.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until the mushrooms release their liquid and the pan becomes dry again.  Transfer the mushrooms to a bowl and leave aside until later.

Remove the dried mushrooms (well actually, rehydrated mushrooms) from the liquid, finely dice and chuck in with the other mushrooms.  Don’t throw away the mushroom water, pop this in the pan with the rest of the stock.

Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and fry the onion until translucent.  Stir in the rice until all of the grains are coated in oil.  Ladle a spoonful of stock into the pan (you can always start by adding a glass of white wine if you’ve got one knocking about) and stir constantly until the liquid is incorporated.  This is the boring bit – keep adding stock and stirring until it is absorbed by the rice.

Once you’ve used about 3 quarters of the stock try tasting a few grains of your rice.  There is a lot of debate about the ideal consistency of risotto, classically I think you’re meant to aim of a bit if ‘bite’ to the grains, however, I prefer mine a bit more on the soft and creamy side.  If you’re like me you won’t be able to tell by eye, so just try a few grains between each additional spoonful of stock until you get to a consistency that you like (you may not need all the stock, or you may need another splash of hot water from the kettle).  Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary – you probably won’t need any salt (the parmesan will add that) but you will probably like a few grinds of coarse black pepper.

Stir in the mushrooms until warmed through then add in the parmesan and another knob of butter.  Remove from the heat, cover  and leave for a minute or two to get all sexy and unctuous.  You can roughly chop your nuts while you wait – oo-er.

Give the risotto a final stir before heaping into big bowls.  Sprinkle with the toasted nuts and crumble over some goats cheese.  Serve immediately with a glass of wine or a nice bottle of lager.

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Steamed mushroom buns and greens in miso butter

| adamcockle

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Ingredients:

For the dough:

  • 2/3 cup warm water
  • 2tsp instant yeast
  • 2tbsp sugar
  • 1tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
  • 1 + 1/4 cup bread flour
  • 1tsp salt
  • 1/4tsp baking powder

For the mushroom filling:

  • 250g mushrooms (I used a mixture of chestnut and shitake)
  • 5 spring onions
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2tbsp oil
  • 2tbsp soy sauce
  • 1tbsp maple syrup (or honey)
  • 1tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1tsp chinese five spice
  • 1/2tsp ground szechuan pepper

For the greens:

  • 1tbsp butter
  • 1tsp miso paste
  • Greens of your choice (I used a mixture of spring greens and baby bak choi)

For the dipping sauce:

  • 4tbsp soy sauce
  • 2tbsp maple syrup (or honey)
  • 2tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1tsp chilli oil (or more if you like it spice)
  • 1tsp sesame oil

Method:

For the dough:

Mix the water, sugar, and yeast in a bowl until the yeast has dissolved.  Add the oil and then stir in the flour and salt.  Once the dough comes together in a sticky lump, transfer onto a floured surface and knead until smooth (about 5 to 10 minutes).  Put the dough aside in an oiled, covered bowl until risen to double its size.

For the mushroom filling:

Heat the oil in a large pan on a medium high heat.  Finely chop the garlic and spring onion and cook until the garlic has started to turn golden.  Add the mushrooms and cook until reduced in size and the pan starts to look dry (about 10 minutes).  Add the remaining ingredients and cook for a few more minutes until rich and dark brown.  Transfer to a clean bowl and allow to cool.

For the dumplings:

Punch down the risen dough and separate into small walnut sized balls (you should have about 8 – 10).  Press each ball into a flat circle (about 4inches across) and pop a heaped teaspoon of the cooled mushroom mixture into the centre. Lift the edges of the dough to enclose the filling and pinch and twist the dough to seal.

Place each dumpling on a small square of parchment paper and leave aside for about 20 minutes under a damp cloth. Meanwhile, heat some water in a pan until simmering.  Load the dumplings into a bamboo steamer (or more than one stacked on top of each other) keeping them on the parchment paper pieces.  Leave to steam over the bubbling pan for 10-12 minutes.

For the greens:

Melt the butter in a medium hot pan until it starts to froth and bubble.  Add in the miso and whisk until it has incorporated with the butter.  Toss in your greens and allow to cook until just tender.  Depending on your miso you may need to add a bit of extra seasoning at this point.

For the dipping sauce:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Easy!

Serve the dumplings straight from the steamer with a little bowl of dipping sauce on the side.  Best enjoyed with an ice cold bottle of Tiger beer.

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