10 Oct mushrooms on brioche

Mushrooms are what really herald the autumn for us. Everything about them says comfort; their earthy taste and colour, their love of cream and cheese. This recipe will work well with standard button mushrooms found in any shop but do try to seek out some wild mushrooms to really take advantage of the variety that’s out there.

Fancy foraging for mushrooms? This is always best done with an expert guide and our favourite Irish mycophagist is Wicklow-based Bill O’Dea. Find him at http://www.mushroomstuff.com/

Mushrooms on Brioche (serves 1, easily doubled)

Let’s face it. Brioche is more of a cake than a bread. And we’re fine with that. We absolutely adore the autumnal comfort of mushrooms paired with the sweet stodge of brioche.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon rapeseed oil

1 large handful of mushrooms

1 garlic clove

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt

Pepper

2 slices of brioche (or your other favourite bread to toast)

1 sprig of thyme

Parmesan, to serve

Method

1. Heat the rapeseed oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.

2. Wash and slice the mushrooms before adding to the frying pan. Cook for 5 until the mushrooms have softened.

3. Finely grate the garlic clove over the mushrooms and squeeze in the lemon juice. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, toast the brioche slices before transferring them to a serving plate.

5. Pour the cooked mushrooms onto the toast and top with a few leaves picked from the sprig and a fine grating of Parmesan to finish.

This recipe first appeared in Insider Magazine in The Irish Independent on October 9th