Ultimate Mushroom Bruschetta

Whether you’re using farmed or wild mushrooms, or a combination of both, do your best to get hold of a nice interesting mixture. When it comes to frying them, make sure your pan is a large one so the moisture that comes out of them can evaporate easily. Otherwise they’ll begin to boil in their own juices. Mushrooms cooked properly are so versatile you can stir them into a risotto, sprinkle them onto a pizza or serve them with a grilled steak.

Put a large frying pan, big enough to hold all the mushrooms in one layer, on the heat and add a couple of glugs of extra virgin olive oil. Depending on the size of your mushrooms, leave any small ones whole but tear, a break or slice the larger ones up. Add them all to the pan and give it a shake to toss the mushrooms in the oil. Add the chopped garlic and fresh herbs and shake the pan again. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and the crumbled chilli and leave to fry gently for a few minutes. If the mixture becomes dry, pour in a little more oil.

Once the mushrooms have got some color going on, after about 3 to 4 minutes, add the butter and a squeeze of lemon juice to give a nice twang – don’t go overboard here, you don’t need much – and toss again. To finish this off and make it into a lovely creamy sauce, spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of water into the pan. Simmer for a little longer, until you have a lovely simple sauce that just loosely coats the mushrooms. Now toast your bread.

When toasted, rub the bread with the cut side of the remaining clove of garlic. Place each slice on a serving plate, pile the mushrooms and creamy juices from the pan on top and tuck in. So good!