Mushroom recipes

Browse our magnificent collection of mushroom recipes, including Marcus Wareing's mushroom cobbler, Paul Heathcote's mushroom risotto with Parmesan and Robert Thompson's partridge breast with shiitake mushroom, plus text from Matthew Fort outlining the different varieties.

Fort on Mushrooms

Queer things, mushrooms. Wild ones, that is You never really know about them, their coming or their going, why they're all over the place one year, and nowhere to be picked the next. And no-one has yet found a reliable way of getting the very best of them - chanterelle, cep, morel, chicken-in-the-woods or even the proper field or horse mushroom - to sprout on demand.

The cultivated ones may be more dependable, but they are to wild funghi what my cover drive is to that of David Gower. Those neat and tidy, symmetrically-capped chappies - button, chestnut, Portobello, crimini and all the other variations - that owe more to the ingenuity of the marketing man than they do to nature - are run-of the-mill, middle-of-the-road, commonplace funghi, decent enough in their way, but no match for the beauty of the wild variety.

There are hundreds of varieties to choose from, but only a handful are really worth the effort of picking or even picking up, and even fewer that will maim or kill you. In other, more sensible countries such as France or Italy, you can take your basket of mushrooms along to a qualified chemist, who will tell you what you can or can't eat. If you want to forage for your own here, get yourself a properly trained mycophage (mushroom expert) or at least a rally good book such as Wild Food by Roger Phillips or The Edible Mushroom Book by Anna del Conte and Thomas Laessoe, or it may be a matter of fungal Russian roulette.

Except for morels, which come in spring, mushroom hunting was traditionally an autumn pursuit. Nowadays, of course, the world is our foraging ground, and it's always autumn somewhere. Consequently, chefs can find wild mushrooms of some sort of other from somewhere or other. They vary markedly in quality. Anyway, none are going to taste as good as any you've found, picked and cooked yourself.

What Mushrooms Go With

The mushroom world is filled with a variety of wild and cultivated fungi, all with different flavours and properties, but generally all holding a lovely earthiness that makes a wonderful grounding note in any dish whether used fresh or dried.

Mushrooms are popular in pasta dishes, such as this linguine with ceps and trompettes by Dominic Chapman, and in risotto, with Paul Heathcote's mushroom risotto with Parmesan being an excellent example. Parmesan heightens mushroom's savoury properties and is a popular cheese to pair the funghi with, but also try using Gruyère, Grana Padano, pecorino romano, cojita and cheddar.

The flavours of game meat are well-accented by the taste of mushrooms. Robert Thompson's roasted loin of venison rests upon a mushroom purée, while his partridge breast recipe features the richness of truffle and shiitake. Mushrooms are also fantastic partners to beef (commonly featured alongside steaks), lamb, duck, pork and chicken. Even fish can benefit from the addition of mushrooms, such as Dominic Chapman's halibut with mushrooms and gnocchi.

Mushrooms are also a popular ingredient for vegetarian dishes, as their flavour has a richness that is often comparable to meat. Vineet Bhatia's lovely lifafa mushroom pastry features braised spinach, which is a popular companion to the fungi in veggie dishes. In his mushroom cobbler recipe, Marcus Wareing makes brilliant use of oyster, flat and chestnut mushrooms for a superbly comforting meal

Mushroom recipes

Lamb loin, Parmesan risotto and pan juices Chris Horridge

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	1 hour plus 1 hour resting
Serves:	4

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Mushroom risotto with Parmesan and truffle oil Paul Heathcote

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	45 minutes
Serves:	6

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Mushroom cobbler Marcus Wareing

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	1 hour 50 minutes plus chilling time
Serves:	4

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Chicken and mushroom pie with cheddar shortcrust pasty Nathan Outlaw

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	50 minutes
Serves:	4

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Braised beef in bitter beer, with mushrooms and green peppercorn pie Paul Heathcote

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	2 hours
Serves:	6

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Mushroom truffles Nuno Mendes

Course:	Petit four
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	2 hours
Serves:	25

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Wild mushroom consommé with herb gnocchi, confit tomatoes and pickled mushrooms Matthew Tomkinson

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	2 hours plus chilling
Serves:	4

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Risotto Milanese with wild mushrooms Galton Blackiston

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	1 hour
Serves:	6

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Slow cooked turkey leg, pancetta, wild mushrooms and baby vegetables William Drabble

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	3 hours
Serves:	4

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Lifafa mushrooms, braised spinach roasted tomato-sesame chutney Vineet Bhatia

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	2 hours
Serves:	4

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Wild mushroom, spinach and goat's cheese vol-au-vents with poached duck egg and pimento cream Mark Dodson

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	1 hour 30 minutes
Serves:	4

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Linguine with ceps and trompettes Dominic Chapman

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	1 hour
Serves:	2

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Corn-fed chicken with wild mushrooms and leeks Paul Heathcote

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	50 minutes
Serves:	2

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Langoustine with smoked enokis and lardo Nuno Mendes

Course:	Canapé
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	45 minutes
Serves:	4

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Pan-fried salmon with mushroom sauce Paul Heathcote

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	45 minutes
Serves:	4

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Aberdeen Angus rib eye, mushroom purée and beef tea Kevin Mangeolles

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	55 minutes plus 6 ½ hours preparation
Serves:	6

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Breast of partridge with shiitake mushroom, baby artichoke, haricot vert and truffle Robert Thompson

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	50 minutes plus cooling and reheating
Serves:	2

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Pasta with ceps and boudin blanc Stephen Crane

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	35 minutes plus making the boudin recipe
Serves:	4

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Lamb sweetbreads with shiitake and peas Steve Drake

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Challenging
Cooking Time:	2 hours plus 24 hours for soaking the sweetbreads
Serves:	4

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Grilled leek, aubergine and mushrooms Steve Drake

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	2 hours plus time for infusion
Serves:	6

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Salted pork neck, dried berries, wild mushrooms and wild garlic Christoffer Hruskova

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Challenging
Cooking Time:	1 hour 30 minutes plus 12 hours brining and 3 hours poaching
Serves:	6

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Pan-fried halibut with wild mushrooms and gnocchi Dominic Chapman

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	1 hour 30 minutes
Serves:	4

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Pot-roasted maize-fed chicken with wild mushrooms, asparagus spears and truffle tagliatelle Mark Jordan

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	3 hours plus 8 hours for stock and sauce
Serves:	4

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Griddled South Coast sea bass with provençal vegetables and basil oil William Drabble

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	1 hour 30 minutes
Serves:	4

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Grouse, fried brioche and fig purée Kevin Mangeolles

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	8 hours
Serves:	6

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Honey roasted breast of Creedy Carver duck with smoked belly pork, caramelised endive and ceps Matthew Tomkinson

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	3 hours
Serves:	4

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Lamb kidneys with crushed broad beans, lemon and capers Geoffrey Smeddle

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	2 hours
Serves:	4

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Loin of rabbit with fettuccine, prosciutto and roasted hazelnuts Martin Wishart

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	3 hours 30 minutes
Serves:	4

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Oriental pork Martin Wishart

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	2 hours 45 minutes
Serves:	4

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Oven roasted rack of lamb, matchstick potatoes with fenugreek leaves, wild mushroom pulao Alfred Prasad

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	2 hours
Serves:	6

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Pan roasted breast of mallard with a samosa of braised leg, salt-baked swede, parsnip purée Robert Thompson

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	3 hours 35 minutes plus chilling samosa pastry
Serves:	4

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Pan-fried halibut with smoked bacon and girolles Adam Gray

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	30 minutes
Serves:	4

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Pan-fried sea bass, butter spinach, clams, poached cod cheeks and fish sauce Simon Hulstone

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	1 hour 30 minutes
Serves:	4

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Pastry layers with wild mushrooms, Norfolk asparagus and blue cheese dressing Galton Blackiston

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	3 hours
Serves:	4

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Red mullet and squid with oven-dried tomatoes, wild fennel and pickled mushrooms Nathan Outlaw

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	2 hours 15 minutes
Serves:	4

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Rib-eye steak with chunky chips, field mushrooms and vine tomatoes Josh Eggleton

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	2 hours 20 minutes
Serves:	2

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Roast loin of venison, wild mushroom pie and parsnip purée Adam Gray

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Medium
Cooking Time:	2 hours plus chilling (excluding gravy)
Serves:	4

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Roast pigeon with braised butter beans Bryan Webb

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	4 hours 15 minutes plus overnight soaking
Serves:	4

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Roasted veal sweetbreads, cockles, cauliflower cous-cous and girolles Adam Simmonds

Course:	Main
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	4 hours 30 minutes plus rinsing the sweetbreads
Serves:	4

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Tandoori khumb Alfred Prasad

Course:	Starter
Complexity:	Easy
Cooking Time:	1 hour
Serves:	4

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