A great way to bulk up a main meal, why not try these Italian mushroom recipes from the Vegetarian Society…
Potato nest with artichoke, mushrooms and tomatoes
Nidi di patae con carciofi, funghi e pomodori secchi
Serves 6 | Preperation 15 minutes | Cooking 50 minutes
For the potato nests
Olive oil to grease the muffin tray cases
550g baking potatoes
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
For the filling
100g artichoke hearts, sliced (drained, from a jar)
150g fresh oyster mushrooms
50g sundried tomatoes (drained, from a jar)
1 clove garlic
30g cranberry sauce
50g strong cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
Preheat the oven to 180?C/350?F/Gas Mark 4. Oil a 5cm deep, 6 hole muffin tray with a little olive oil. Peel the potatoes and grate them. Wrap up the grated potato in kitchen paper and press out as much water as possible.
Put the potato in a bowl then mix in the rosemary, 2 tbsp olive oil and seasoning. Evenly divide the potato mixture into the muffin tin, pressing the potato into the bases and the sides to form cups. Brush lightly with oil, gently cover with greaseproof paper and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the potato has become crisp.
For the filling, chop the artichokes, mushrooms, garlic and tomatoes, then saut? until soft. Season to taste. When the potato nests are cooked, allow them to cool before turning out. Put a spoonful of cranberry sauce in the base of each, then divide the filling evenly. Top with cheese and bake in the oven for 10 minutes until the cheese is melted.
Jerusalem artichoke and mushroom pithivier
Pithivier di topinambur e funghi
Serves 4 | Preparation 10 minutes | Cooking 55 minutes
350g peeled Jerusalem artichokes, thinly sliced
75g shallots, thinly sliced
1? tbsp olive oil
175g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
? tsp rosemary, chopped
125ml red wine
250g tinned chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato pur?e
100g puy lentils, cooked
500g puff pastry
1 medium free range egg, to glaze
Heat oven to 200?C/400?F/Gas Mark 6.
Saut? the artichokes and shallots in the olive oil in a large frying pan until softened and slightly golden (approx 15 minutes). Add the mushrooms and rosemary and cook for a further 2 or 3 minutes before adding the red wine, chopped tomatoes and tomato pur?e. Simmer
for 15 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Finally, add the cooked lentils.
Roll the pastry sheets into two thin (approx 3mm) circles, one 26cm diameter and one 22cm. Place the smaller on a baking sheet and top with the filling, leaving a 2cm border. Cover with the larger circle, pressing the edges neatly together and crimping with your fingers or a fork.
Make a hole in the centre and brush the pastry with the egg and bake for 20-25 minutes until puffed and golden.
Serve with fresh chicory vinaigrette salad for a light lunch or roast potatoes and gravy as an evening meal.
Roasted vegetable calzone
Calzone con verdure al forno
Severs 4 | Preparation 1 hour 30 minutes | Cooking 30 minutes
For the dough ?
360g plain white flour
? tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp fast active yeast
2 tbsp olive oil
240ml lukewarm water
For the tomato sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
400g tinned tomatoes
1 tsp oregano
500ml stock
1 tbsp tomato pur?e
Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the salt, sugar and yeast, then stir. Make a well in the flour, add the oil and then add the water, stirring to form a dough. Dust your work top with flour then knead the dough. Divide the dough and place in a bowl. Leave the dough to rise for 40 minutes while you prepare the sauce and topping.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the onions, then add the other ingredients. Turn down the heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes until ready to use, stirring occasionally. It should be rich and sticky.
Preheat the oven to 200?C/400?F/Gas Mark 6. Place the vegetables, without pine nuts, on a tray and add oregano, olive oil and season. Place in the oven for 20 minutes.
Roll out the dough and add your sauce to each half, then fold and pinch. Bake for 10 minutes, and serve with salad.
Wild risotto
Risotto selvaggio
Served 4 | Preparation 10 minutes | Cooking 30-40 minutes
1 litre vegetable stock (you may need more)
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
375g arborio rice
150ml dry white wine
15g dried ceps
15g butter
225g mixed wild mushrooms, sliced
100g wild rice, cooked
50g Camargue red wild rice, cooked
50g Pecorino cheese
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Bring the stock to the boil in a large saucepan and keep it simmering. Meanwhile, heat the oil in another saucepan and fry the onion until soft. Add the arborio rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring all the time.
Pour in the wine and cook for 5 minutes. Start to add the stock using a large ladle. Cook gently, stirring regularly and making sure all the stock has been absorbed before adding the next ladleful. This should take about 25-30 minutes.
While the rice is cooking, cover the ceps with boiling water and soak for about 15-20 minutes. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid, and chop. Heat the butter in a frying pan and quickly cook the sliced wild mushrooms for about 5 minutes. Add all the mushrooms to the rice together with the two cooked wild rices and the reserved soaking liquid. Add a little more stock if necessary and heat through thoroughly.
Remove from the heat and, if using, stir in the Pecorino cheese. Season to taste and serve immediately.