Baked porcini mushrooms

As I said the other day, all this wet weather is making me fancy mushrooms – mainly on toast (fried in olive oil with garlic and parsley, maybe a splash of wine) or on pasta. Since I’m in London and can’t go foraging with my family in a Basque forest the next best thing is of course Borough market which luckily we live right by. I wanted to try something different from the usual suspects (chestnut and button mushrooms). I also wanted to do a non-pasta dish!

I decided to make this baked porcini River cafe recipe because it sounded delicious and very easy. We had it with veal saltimbocca and rosemary, garlic and lemon roast potatoes. It’s lovely but next time I might try it with balsamic instead of lemon for a bit of sweetness. It’s definitely a starter/side dish not a main!!

Baked porcini mushrooms

Prep time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 8 – 15 mins
Budget: £5 – £10 depending on cost of mushrooms (Salad £1.99, pancetta £3, mushrooms £2, herbs £1.50, lemon 30p)

• Porcini mushrooms (in pics used portobello)
• Pancetta cubed
• 1 clove garlic minced
• Sticks of thyme
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Rocket salad or similar
• Lemon (or balsamic vinegar)

Preheat the oven to 180/gas mark 4. Clean your mushrooms by cutting off the end of the stalk and wiping with a kitchen towel or old toothbrush (here are more tips on how to cook and clean mushrooms – don’t wash them!! Makes them soggy!). Put the mushrooms in a baking tray, stalk side up, and drizzle with oil. Stick the thyme into the stalk and sprinkle the cubed pancetta and garlic on top of the mushroom. Pop in the oven for 8-15 mins. Once done serve whole or sliced on rocket salad (or ‘a bed of leaves’ if you prefer…). Season and drizzle with extra olive oil and either lemon juice or balsamic vinegar.

Rosemary, garlic and lemon roast potatoes

The heavenly scent of the lemon, garlic and rosemary roasting in the oven is exactly what’s called for when it never ever stops raining. So far this month only making Vietnamese crunchy salad has been this fragrant and uplifting (oodles of chopped mint and coriander). We also had a very fun secret mission to cut the rosemary from the big garden.

This recipe is by my current obsession: Mimi Thorisson’s Manger website. Mimi lives in the Medoc, France with her Icelandic photographer husband, 4 children and numerous dogs. She is French and Chinese and her recipes are delicious. I’m very very happy she has a cook book and TV series coming out this year. I cannot recommend her highly enough.

We had the potatoes with veal saltimbocca and a baked porcini salad. ‘Saltimbocca’ means ‘jump into your mouth’ which seemed apt since we didn’t get to eat until 10pm and were practically lying on the floor with exhaustion – at least the food could ‘jump’ to us. Though the potatoes looked beautiful and crunchy I found them a little heavy. We had an olive oil emergency so had to use an untried oil from the local shop. It was too rich for roasting I think so I want to make these potatoes again, either with a lighter olive oil and less time parboiling or with sunflower oil.

Rosemary garlic and lemon roast potatoes

Prep time: 5-10 mins
Cooking time: 1 hour
Budget: under £5 (potatoes £1, lemon 30p)

• Potatoes suited to roasting (maris piper, desiree)
• Rosemary – leaves picked and chopped
• 4 cloves peeled garlic
• Rind of 1 lemon
• Salt and pepper
• Light olive oil (or sunflower oil)

Preheat the oven to 200/gas mark 6. Peel and parboil the potatoes for 10 minutes. We usually parboil for longer then drain and shake the potatoes around so they get smoodgi. I wouldn’t recommend doing that for this recipe unless using sunflower oil which crisps up better. Put the potatoes, rosemary, garlic and lemon in a baking tray and drizzle with oil. Roast until golden for around 40mins-1hour. Lewis recommends wiping up any excess oil from the baking tray with kitchen towel.

Tagliatelle with girolles (or any mushrooms)

It’s raining it’s pouring…
Usually Lexie adores the rain as she has a thing for umbrellas and wellies.

But even she has had enough of having to endure her pushchair rain cover every day since forever #toddlerproblems

I don’t entirely mind the rain. The slight OCD that emerged in me when Lexie was born is grateful the streets are getting washed properly. I’m also glad that damp = good skin according to my mum. I quite like London in the rain, it feels right (as opposed to London in a heatwave which is hellish). I would however far prefer to be mushroom foraging in a dark, magical Basque forest than fighting with my umbrella on the pavement. I remember being a little girl on treasured mushroom hunts in the forests of Guipuzkoa. I was the assistant to my adored cousin Inigo, a landscape gardener and terrific chef, who would create the most fantastic dishes with our finds (some of his recipes to follow!). The pic below is us together in one of his favourite forests near Anoeta where he lives.

The damp has been playing on my mind and all I can think about are mushrooms and how to eat them. A morning visit to my mother-in-laws gave me the chance to peruse her River Cafe cookbooks and stock up on herbs from her wonderful garden. I returned home laden with bundles of thyme, rosemary, sage and recipes for veal escalopes, baked porcini and girolle tagliatelle. I realise writing this I’ve also been heavily influenced by a post I read recently on the glorious Manger website.

I needed a quick lunch and figured veal might be more fun for dinner with Lewis than with a tired toddler so pasta it was. I’ve got a standard mushroom tagliatelle I do with cream, bacon, onion and parsley (see recipe for this variation at bottom of the recipe). I far prefer this version. It’s much cleaner and allows the mushrooms to really take the stage rather than masking them with a rich creamy sauce. Lexie had my leftovers for dinner as a side with a ‘maybe tiny little’ (her words she says doing little lobster claw fingers in front of her eyes) slice of veal saltimbocca and some buttered spinach. She wolfed the pasta – by far her favourite bit of the meal!

EDIT: I now make this pasta recipe about once a week using the bog standard mushrooms and spaghetti from the supermarket because it takes exactly 10 mins, it’s really tasty and cheap. It’s basically one step up from pasta, butter and cheese which we also love to eat when in a hurry. I never use girolles because they are so pricy and also such a faff to clean. So if you want a cheap staple try this with button mushrooms and spaghetti. If you love that and want to push the boat out buy posh girolles and good tagliatelle. 

Tagliatelle with girolles (or any mushrooms) 

Prep time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins
Serves: 2
Ease: Very easy
Budget: £5-10 depending on mushrooms (tagliatelle £2.50, mushrooms £3, parsley £1.50, lemon 30p)

• 1/2 pack Tagliatelle or spaghetti
• Girolle mushrooms (or any mushrooms – this is lovely with button, chestnut and portobello mushrooms = aka the ones that are cheap at the supermarket) – as many as you fancy
• Butter
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 Lemon
• Handful of parsley – chopped
• 1 clove of sliced garlic
• Parmesan

If using normal mushrooms cut the ends of the stalks off then slice. Don’t wash them as mushrooms absorb water. If using girolles, clean them before slicing, so cut the ends of the stalks off then wipe with a damp cloth or brush with a toothbrush. This is really fiddly and don’t attempt this with a toddler under your feet, rather with a glass of wine listening to the radio watching the rain tinkle on the window!

Cook the tagliatelle as per the instructions and when done – usually 5-10 mins – drain, return to the pan with a big knob of butter and some salt. The mushrooms take about 3-5 mins to fry so its good to do have everything ready then start frying them once the pasta starts cooking. So heat olive oil in a separate frying pan to a high temperature but not smoking – I use about 3 tbsp. Add the mushrooms, season immediately and fry for a minute, then add the sliced garlic and fry for another minute on this high heat. Squeeze lemon juice on the mushrooms and reduce the heat adding the chopped parsley. Turn the heat off and as soon as the pasta is done add the mushrooms and mix. Serve with plenty of parmesan and lemon wedges.

Here are some really good tips on how to clean and cook mushrooms – I knew about not washing them but I didn’t know how important it is to cook mushrooms on a high heat (it’s very important!!).

• Variation: For those who like creamy pasta sauces try this: fry bacon then add chopped onion. Cook for a bit then add sliced mushrooms, some crushed garlic and maybe a splash of white wine. Sizzle and fry until you like the look of the mushrooms then season with salt, pepper and parsley. Add a swirl of double cream and turn the heat off. Mix in the cooked tagliatelle, season and serve with parmesan.

Butternut squash and feta salad

This is one of my staple salads. It’s a kids meal from Jane Clarke’s Yummy Baby book but I often make it if I have more than 3 people to feed because it’s delicious, cheap and really easy to make so I don’t get neurotic (I’m not a great host). Ironically it’s not Lexie’s favourite – she’s not into squash or sweet potato – but everyone else loves it and always asks for the recipe.

It’s nice with sausages but today I’m serving it with lamb chops for a lunch with my mum and her best friend. It’s lovely as a warm salad using the squash straight from the oven but equally delicious served cold so you can roast the squash in advance and keep in the fridge till you need it. I’ve never made it with toasted nuts/seeds or bacon but I think both would be a great addition.

Butternut squash and feta salad

Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 45mins – 1 hour (to cook the squash, takes 5-10 minutes to put the salad together)

• 1 butternut squash cut lengthways in half
• Olive oil
• Feta cheese (or goats cheese is nice too and what I used in the pics)
• Spring onions
• Lemon
• Salad – spinach, rocket, watercress is nice (I used watercress in the pics
• Salt and pepper (optional)
• Toasted hazelnuts or pumpkin seeds (optional)
• Chopped, fried streaky bacon (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees or gas mark 6. Drizzle olive oil over the halves of squash.

Put in the oven for 40mins – 1 hour depending on size. Do check the squash and adjust the temperature accordingly. Once it’s done either wait for it to cool, cover and keep in the fridge till you need it. Or remove the skin and seeds and chop the flesh into chunks.

Slice the spring onions and cut the feta into chunks. Put the salad in a bowl and add the spring onions, feta and squash chunks. Dress with olive oil and fresh lemon juice to taste and season with salt and pepper if you want. Then if you are using them add the nuts/seeds/bacon to garnish (not used in the pics).

Pan tumaca (bread with tomato)

Pan tumaca – bread with tomato – along with a cafe con leche and fresh orange juice is a traditional Spanish breakfast from Cataluyna. Lexie absolutely loves this and I give her a little bowl of tomato with rounds of toasted baguette which she dips into the bowl! I eat it all the time, including at work where my colleagues thought I was mental. I’d reply: “Yes well the rest of the world thinks you and your marmite are mental so ya boo to you.”

Pan tumaca is nice at any time of the day as a snack or a side dish. Often, if not being served for breakfast, you rub a bit of garlic on the bread too. As a snack I like it with slivers of manchego and/or jamon serrano.

Pan tumaca

Prep time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 2 mins

• Fresh or toasted baguette/ciabatta/white sourdough/pugliese
• Tomatos – vine ideally
• Olive oil
• Salt
• (garlic – optional)
• (manchego/jamon serrano – optional)

Get the tomatoes and cut them in half. You can just rub the tomato onto the fresh or toasted bread but its more economical to grate it. Grate the cut side till you get to the skin then discard the skins.

Lewis adds olive oil to the grated tomato, I don’t. I spread the tomato on the bread then drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Its so yummy – salt for breakfast!

If you want to have the garlic rub one clove on the bread before you add the tomato.

Vietnamese chicken noodle salad

I got a bit obsessed with Vietnamese food in 2005 after discovering the Vietnamese restaurants on Kingsland Road. My dad worked in Vietnam so luckily we had Nicole Routhier’s ‘The Foods of Vietnam’ at home. There are loads of great recipes in this cook book and my favourite is this crunchy noodle salad (I wooed Lewis with this dish!!). It is seriously good!

Noodles are symbolic in Chinese culture for a long life and this morning at 3 am a new addition to the family arrived – a little red head baby girl! Lexie’s cousin and my niece. I can’t think of a better dish to make today so Lex and I celebrated by going to the market to get all the veg – I couldn’t resist buying the mini cucumbers!

I used roast chicken leftovers but this dish is equally nice without meat or perhaps with prawns. It is a cold salad and fantastic in summer but also clean and zingy enough to fit a January detox. It’s even better at this time of year served alongside a pho or Hugh Fearnley’s poached chicken with star anise (recipes to follow). A quick warning: it is faffy chopping up all the veg but it smells incredible – all that fresh mint and coriander. It’s also a very cheap dish once you’ve invested in the required condiments.

If I’m making these noodles for Lexie I do a separate dressing without chilli. And if we’re not eating together I put aside some of the shredded veg and herbs in a tupperware. Then when she’s having it, I’ll cook the noodles and make the chilli-free dressing from scratch before mixing it all together.

Vietnamese chicken noodle salad

Prep time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 5-10 mins

• 1 cucumber, julienned in a food processor or cut in thin slices
• 2 carrots, julienned or grated
• 2 handfuls of shredded white cabbage or chinese leaf cabbage
• Lots of chopped coriander
• Lots of chopped mint
• Fresh lime halves
• Chopped salted peanuts
• Chicken slices
• Rice noodles

For the dressing

• 3 tablespoons of groundnut or sunflower oil
• 3 tablespoons of fish sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of rice vinegar
• 1 or 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of white sugar (to taste, I usually do 1 tbsp but recipe is 1 1/2)
• 1 crushed garlic clove
• 1 knob of grated ginger
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice (to taste)
• 1 chopped red chilli – leave this out if making for kids unless they ‘do spicy’ – Lexie’s words – she doesn’t ‘do spicy’.

Start by making the dressing as it’s nicer if it’s sat for a while. Get a bowl and add the oil, vinegar and fish sauce. Mix in the garlic, ginger and chilli then add the sugar and stir till it’s dissolved. A tip for chopping chilli is to either wear rubber gloves or use scissors. That way you don’t need to worry about getting any chilli on your little one. Then cover and set aside.

To make the salad do all the chopping and shredding then it’s a simple assembly job. Mix the carrot, cucumber and cabbage. Add the chopped fresh herbs and chicken slices. I also use scissors to chop herbs, sometimes like my 97 year old granny-in-law does, with the herbs in a glass so you can chop them very finely with the scissors.

Cook your rice noodles as per the packet then, once done, you can either mix the noodles in with the veg or serve separately. Finish the dressing by mixing in the fresh lime then pour all over the salad. If you won’t eat all the salad in one sitting only dress what you are eating – it doesn’t keep well once dressed. Garnish with the chopped peanuts and some slices of lime and serve! Ideally with an ice cold beer or some jasmine tea.

PS: I love these chopsticks – Lewis and I bought them in Peru from an amazing Japanese restaurant. We were so grateful to all the Japanese immigrants in S America whose restaurants saved us from the ubiquitous meat, rice and beans or ham and cheese toasties.