Marvellous mushrooms, versatile, delicious & so very good for you - ESPECIALLY if you give them a little helping hand in the Vitamin D department by letting them tan by the pool with a fabulous sunhat & margarita before cooking. True story? Putting your mushrooms in direct sunlight (gills up) for 10–15 minutes before using dramatically increases their Vitamin D content & that Vitamin increase lasts for up to a week in the fridge post tanning session (so much longer than your average spray tan guyssss).
With Vitamin D being an essential for boosting the immune system and metabolism, not to mention helping the body absorb calcium & maintain strong bones and teeth, magnificent mushrooms are also the only food source of Vitamin D that is suitable for vegetarians & vegans. With around one in four Australians being deficient in Vitamin D (especially after the Winter months) & a plethora (great word) of ways to enjoy these beauties consider this your sign to get your mushrooms out in the sunshine.
Now if you've made it this far to only be shaking your head at the thought of those watery, tasteless mushrooms on toast you had recently then let us gently guide you back on the path to deliciousness with our fave way to pan-fry so you end up with juicy, delicious bursts of flavour & it's all in when you add your oil or butter. If you remember the saying "cook with oil & flavour with butter" you can't go wrong piggos. Add olive oil and your sliced schrooms to a piping hot pan and sauté until golden, have your aromatics ready to roll (we adore the holy trinity of garlic, butter & thyme) and when you think your mushrooms are ready throw in the butter and wait for it to stop sizzling - that's when your done friends. The sizzle is the water leaving the butter (like the humanity leaving your soul) & you just want the butter to lovingly coat your mushrooms (not be absorbed, which is what would happen if you add the butter at the start). You also don't want your aromatics to burn and be bitter & twisted, so add them towards the end of cooking for a lovely hit of flavour without any burnt crispy bits.
See our video below on the perfect tan & pan-fry for your mushrooms & then read on for our fave mushroom recipes.
Some quick ideas?
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Garlic Butter Mushrooms on toast - Sauté mushrooms & finish with garlic, butter, and herbs (rosemary, thyme & parsley all adore a mushroom). Pile onto crusty toast that you've spread with goats cheese instead of butter & finish with a good scrunch of cracked pepper. Also amazing with finely diced crispy bacon added in & the whole thing topped off by a perfectly poached egg
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Stuffed Mushrooms with golden herb crumbs - Hollow out large field mushrooms or buttons (either work beautifully) and fill them with a mixture of the diced mushroom inside you hollowed out, garlic, panko crumbs, parmesan or feta & bake until golden and crunchy
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Mushroom and Spinach "Quesadillas" - Sauté mushrooms and spinach with lots of garlic & some bacon if you fancy, place inside tortillas or flatbreads with your cheese of choice (feta is pretty great), and pop in a toastie grill or pan fry until cheese is melted and outside is golden
annnd some recipes we love (and use on repeat) from the blog
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Five Spice Chicken & Oyster Mushroom San Choy Bow - a flavourbomb in a bowl that's even better the next day & packs a punch for a delicious Summer evening dinner. You can see the recipe and step-by-step instructions here.
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Chicken, Bacon & Mushroom Pasta - one our mum makes and it's SOOOOOO good, get the recipe here
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Bangers & Mash - aka comfort food in a bowl, a hug after a long week and the perfect Friday night couch dinner on a cooler evening. The trick is to buy the best snags you can afford & you can get our recipe here.
- Mushroom & Pepper Steak Mini Pies - party food, long weekend food or just because you deserve delicious pastry encasing a gorj gravy packed full of mushrooms & melt-in-your-mouth steak. This recipe is an oldie but a goodie & you can get it here.
