Clever suggestions from the Mushroom Bureau (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Clever suggestions from the Mushroom Bureau

2:12pm Wednesday 6th June 2012 in Checkout By Gillian Cowburn

THOSE clever people at the Mushroom Bureau – yes, there really is a ‘mushroom bureau’ – certainly knew what they were doing when they chose celebrity chef James Martin as the face of their latest campaign.

Let’s face it, if James came up with ways to cook mud, who wouldn’t give it a whirl?

Fortunately, mushrooms are infinitely better for us than mud – they’re high in protein and low in calories – and can be turned into such dishes as ‘mushroom soup with coriander cress’, and ‘pork escalopes with mushrooms, juniper and mash’.

To check out James’ mushroom inspired recipes, as well as lots of other recipes and mushroomy facts, visit www.moretomushrooms. com.

In the meantime, a word from James on how to prepare mushrooms: “To get the very best from mushrooms you should never wash them, instead wipe clean with a damp piece of kitchen paper or a special mushroom brush.

“And when cooking, use a heavy bottomed pan and a little oil, but don’t add the mushrooms until the pan is very hot. Mushrooms are perfect for eating once they’ve achieved a golden brown colour and almost crispy texture.”

Of course, James isn’t the only clever chef who knows how to get the best from a mushroom – I spotted a lovely dish with sautéed mushrooms, butter and rosemary on toasted sourdough and served with Hawkshead Relish on the new menu at Rheged,where Cumbrian chef Peter Sidwell is now in charge of the visitor centre’s café.

The author of the excellent ‘Simply Good’ book range (the latest features pasta) which you will find in local book shops, Peter starred in the Channel 4 series Lakes on a Plate.

Other dishes on his delicious Rheged menu include an amazing wild boar burger with coriander and Grasmere gingerbread served in an English muffin with chilli and apple jam; also hot apple eccles cakes with salted caramel and ice cream. Divine!

And now for this week’s Checkout recommendations … if you fancy having a go at a few mushroom-inspired recipes, than Country Harvest at Ingleton has recently introduced a selection of fresh fruit and vegetables to its foodhall including the aforementioned mushrooms (£3.60 per kilo). You will also find carrots @90p/kilo, lemons @30p each, broccoli @£2/kilo and cherry tomatoes @£1.15 per punnet.

There are also mushrooms in the kebabs at Burton in Lonsdale Stores as well as peppers and rump steak (£2.90 per pack). Made for the shop by Bowland Outdoor Reared, the kebabs are part of a bbq range which also includes Angus grill steaks – sort of posh beefburgers – which cost £3 for two; and a chicken breast stuffed with feta and wrapped in bacon (£6.50 for two).

The bbq pack from Aireys of Ayside includes four chicken kebabs, four burgers, and four bangers, and costs just £12.50.

And the baps for those burgers cost £1.31 for a pack of four – made by Grange Bakery and on sale at Witherslack village shop. For smaller appetites, a pack of four bread rolls costs £1.05.

Dales butchers at Kirkby Lonsdale is doing a boneless paprika sauce lamb rump which you can put straight on the barbecue – its costs £15.98 per kilo.

Why not serve with some Demels chutney from The Honeypot at Hawkshead – choose from pineapple (£2.99), sweet mango (£3.75) or apricot and ginger (£3.75).