Mushroom and Fennel Salad made with Hedgehog Fungus / Pied de Mouton

This might just be the last weekend of summer judging by the impressive variety of fungi bursting onto the scene in the woods this weekend autumn is on its way

Managed to gather some hedgehog fungus which is one of the tastiest fungi around easily recognised under cap were there are not gills or tubes but spines like a hedgehog or a brush my battered copy of why Jane Grigson in The Mushroom Feast describes it as Rubber Brush . However the French have named it after the shape of the cap Pied de mouton , Mutton Foot , and its mostly named this when for sale in markets.

This fungi is especially delicious in a Squash , Hedgehog and Mushroom Rissotto and it has a firm texture and strong peppery taste

So to end the summer a light and tasty salad zingy with lemon and spiky fennel and mushroom salad the lovely Riverford Vegebox people like to give me massive bulbs of fennel complete with plenty of leaves so this is a great way to eat the bulb which I think needs to be cut very thin almost shaved and left to marinade in lemon juice to soften and lighten the sometimes overpowering aniseed taste the mushrooms too benefit from the marinade absorbed the flavour a slightly cooking.

This salad is fantastic by itself but would make a lovely accompaniment to fish , especially smoked fish or could have some parmesan shaved over to add some protein.

Fennel and Mushroom Salad.

1 fennel bulb , finely sliced
1 hanful of fennel leaves finely chopped
2 handfuls of mushrooms , finely sliced
1 lemon juiced and zested
Pepper

1. Finely slice the fennel and mushroom
2. Pour over the lemon juice and zest
3. Season with salt and pepper
4. Leave for at least 40 minutes
5. Scatter over the fennel leaves

Butternut Squash , Green Beans and Home-Made Paneer Curry

 

Yesterday I made cheese I know how farmers wifey is that , frighteningly easy actually , Paneer an Indian Cheese made without the use of rennet and is therefore completely vegetarian but a good source of protein in a vegetarian curry .

Making Paneer this makes about 300g of Paneer

Ingredients
3 pints of whole milk
200ml live plain yoghurt

Method
1. Bring the milk to the boil
2. Once the milk starts to boil and rise up, stir in the yoghurt
3. Keeping the milk on the heat, stir gently to help the milk curdle; it should only take about a minute. The curds will coagulate and separate from the watery whey.
3. Remove from the heat.
4. Line a large sieve with muslin & place over a large bowl or saucepan. Strain the cheese into the sieve and run some cold water through it. Discard the watery whey
5. Wrap the cheese in the cloth and hang from the kitchen tap over the sink to allow the excess water to drain for 20 minutes. Then, keeping it fairly tight, put the paneer onto a clean work surface. Place a heavy weight on top for 30-40 minutes, or until it is flattened into a firm block.

Butternut Squash , Green Beans and Home-Made Paneer Curry

1 medium butternut squash , cut into 1cm cubes
1 medium onion , finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic
400g of tinned tomatoes
1 tbsp of creamed coconut
Two handfuls of green beans , topped and tailed
150g of paneer cut into cubes
1 tbsp of garamasala
1 tsp of tumeric
1 tsp of paprika
1 tbsp of cumin seeds
1 tbsp of coriander seeds
1 tbsp of cardamon pods – seeds removed from the pods
1 handful of fresh coriander leaves finely chopped

Toast the cardomon, cumin , coriander seeds , tumeric , paprika in a little sunflower oil
Add the onion , garlic and cook til softened
Add the tomatoes, squash  and half a pint of water and the coconut cream
Simmer for 30 minutes
Meanwhile heat a frying pan with a little sunflower oil , add the cubes of paneer and allow them to brown on all sides
Remove from the heat and pat off an excess oil with little kitchen roll
Add the beans and the paneer to the curry cook for a further 5 minutes
Stir in the coriander leaves and serve with brown rice

Wild Mushroom Ragu

A long weekend with nothing to do after a very busy couple of weeks means we definitely needed a little time to chill.

Squeezed in a long walk round an almost deserted Derbyshire nature reserve which was a haven for fungi including thousands of wild parasol mushrooms . I picked them carefully breaking from the base of the stem to ensure the mycelium stayed in place & more will come up in the future seasons, I filled up my backpack

These wild mushrooms have a dense texture and can survive a long cooking keeping a meaty chewy texture cooked up this mushroom ragu and saved the other half of the mushrooms to be dried

Wild Mushroom Ragu

15 parasol mushrooms – roughly chopped stems and caps
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 large onion finely chopped
1/2 bottle of red wine
1 tsp of sweet paprika
1 tbsp of mixed herbs ( oregano , thyme + marjoram)
Salt and Pepper

1. Sweat on the onions and garlic in a pan with a little olive oil until soft
2. Add the mushrooms , wine , paprika & herbs
3. Cover & simmer for 30 minutes , add a little water if required
4. Taste and season with salt and pepper
5. Mix with cooked pasta and serve

Runner Bean Stew

After spoiling myself with cider, strawberries and ice cream at the Green Man Festival 2008 , finally back home & wanting something delicious to eat. Lots of runner beans in the vegebox so tried out this Jamie Oliver recipe , truly delicious , spicy , hot with a lemony hit. Jamie I think serves this with fish or chicken but it is a fantastic main meal perhaps with a little bread, also good cold.

Its quite hard to manage to cook the runner beans I always just want to eat them raw they are so sweet and crunchy.

Runner Bean Stew

200g of fresh runner beans, roughly chopped
1/2 onion finely sliced
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1/2 a tin of tomatoes
Half a fresh red chilli finely chopped
Handful of olives
1/2 tin of anchovies
juice of half a lemon

1. Fry together the anchovies , chilli onions and garlic
2. Add the tomatoes and olives simmer gently for 5 minutes
3. Add the runner beans , simmer for approx 10 minutes
4. The runner beans should maintain some bite
5. Squeeze over the lemon juice

Paprika Chicken Livers with Herbed Yogurt

This is my new favourite quick cook supper , ready in a few minutes. Its an adaptation of a Nigel Slater recipe thats been hanging around in my recipe folder for a while ( some of his other affordable meaty recipes available here )

Chicken Livers are cheap low in fat , rich in iron and taste great meltingly creamy inside the smoky paprika forms a light crust. These would also be delicious in flatbread.

Paprika Chicken Livers with Coriander Yogurt

Serves 1

1 tbsp of sunflower oil
200g chicken livers
2 heaped tbsp of plain flour
1 tsp of smoked paprika
1 pinch of ground chilli

To serve
Thick chilled plain yoghurt
Chopped coriander or mint leaves

1. Warm the oil in a frying pan
2. Cover a small plate with flour season it generously with the paprika, chilli and salt.
3. Roll the chicken livers in the seasoned flour.
4. Drop the seasoned livers into the hot oil. Let them cook without moving them until they are golden underneath, then turn and continue cooking until the livers have a pale gold coat .
5. Mix together the herbs and yogurt
6. Serve the livers with the herbed yogurt