Recipes: Autumn's treasure

At this time of year there are numerous occasions when guided groups go foraging for wild mushrooms. I deplore such expeditions. No-one needs to be accompanied by an expert to stop them picking a poisonous wild mushroom (correctly called fungus).

What they need is a good, illustrated reference book, notably one of those by Roger Phillips. You do need to take great care, of course, as the terrible case of author Nicholas Evans shows – he mistakenly picked and ate poisonous mushrooms recently, ending up seriously ill in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. But if you identify them carefully, there's no reason why we can't all go out as individuals to pick the many delicious mushrooms in our woods.

I don't like groups of mushroom hunters because the spores of wild mushrooms are delicate. Unlike field mushrooms, which, given the right weather conditions, will grow again in the same day following a picking, wild mushrooms (and our woods are full of them, especially chanterelles) take several days to re-grow. These spores are trampled on by groups of would-be enthusiasts and I always wonder just how much irreversible damage is done in the process.

Anyway, today's recipes are suitable for any type of mushroom, wild or cultivated. When buying cultivated I try to avoid the small button mushrooms, which taste of very little. Instead, I seek out the large flat ones, which have so much more flavour. And the longer mushrooms of whatever type are cooked, the better they taste. I am lucky enough to cook in an Aga, and I always roast them. That way, they take up so little olive oil – much less than when they are fried. I simply slice or chop them, rub them with olive oil and place on a baking tray, scattering on a small amount of salt, then roast them for 20 minutes in a hot oven.

MUSHROOMS AND BROCCOLI FLORENTINE

This is a vegetarian main course dish which is a firm favourite in our family.

SERVES 6

3 bags of young spinach leaves, each weighing about 7oz/200g – this seems a vast amount, but it wilts right down on steaming
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
about 15 grinds of the peppermill
freshly grated nutmeg
2lb/900g broccoli, trimmed to neat florets and using as much stem as possible – I think all the flavour lies in the stems
2oz/55g butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1lb 450g mushrooms, stalks trimmed level with the caps and the mushrooms chopped quite small
2-3 fat cloves of garlic, skinned and finely diced
2oz/55g flour
11/4 pints/710ml milk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
6oz/170g strong Cheddar, grated and divided into two-thirds and one-third, the last for sprinkling over the surface before baking (I use Isle of Mull Cheddar)

Steam the spinach just until it wilts. Tip the wilted spinach into a large sieve or colander, and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Put the spinach into a bowl with the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and nutmeg and chop the spinach with a sharp knife. Put this spinach mixture over the base of a wide and fairly shallow ovenproof dish.

Meanwhile, steam the broccoli pieces until just tender. Distribute them evenly over the spinach.

Melt the butter and add the olive oil and fry the chopped mushrooms very well. Stir in the garlic and flour, and cook for a minute before gradually adding the milk, stirring all the time until the sauce bubbles. Let it continue bubbling gently for a minute, stirring, then take the pan off the heat and stir in the Dijon mustard and two-thirds of the grated cheese, stirring until the cheese melts into the hot sauce. Pour this over the broccoli and spinach in the ovenproof dish. Scatter the remainder of the grated cheese evenly over the surface. Before serving, put the dish under a hot grill until the cheese melts and forms a golden crust. In a shallow dish, this should be sufficient time to heat through the vegetables beneath the sauce.

MARINATED MUSHROOMS

This can be served as an accompanying vegetable or as a first course.

SERVES 6

2lb/900g mushrooms, the stalks sliced off and the mushrooms wiped and thinly sliced

For the marinade:

1/4 pint/140ml olive oil
3 fat cloves of garlic, skinned and sliced finely
1/2 pint/285ml chicken stock (or Marigold stock powder made up with boiling water)
1/4 pint/140ml dry fruity white wine
1 sprig of thyme about 3in/7cm
1 level teaspoon salt (I use sea salt)
about 20 grinds of the peppermill
1 tablespoon finely snipped chives
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

Put the olive oil, sliced garlic, stock, wine, thyme, salt and pepper into a saucepan and bring to the boil over a moderate heat. Put the sliced mushrooms into a wide and shallow dish. Pour the boiling liquid over them, mix them thoroughly into the liquid and leave for 24 hours in a cool place, stirring a couple of times, carefully, so as not to break up the slices of mushroom, and to distribute the marinade evenly. Then stir the chives and parsley through the mushrooms. Serve spooned onto individual plates, with the juices as well, with salad leaves, as a first course. To accompany a main course, heap the mushrooms in their marinade juices onto a serving plate and surround with leaves.

MUSHROOMS IN GARLIC AND LEMON BUTTER

This is a really useful dish because it can be made and kept warm for an hour or so without deteriorating.

SERVES 6

6oz/170g butter, softened
2-3 fat cloves of garlic, skinned and very finely diced
1 level teaspoon of salt
about 15 grinds of the peppermill
a good grating of nutmeg
3oz/85g fresh breadcrumbs, white or brown
finely grated rind of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2lbs/900g mushrooms, stalks cut level with the caps – this may sound a large amount, but it allows for the mushrooms to reduce in amount as they cook

Beat the softened butter very well, adding the finely diced garlic, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Beat in the lemon rind and breadcrumbs and parsley.

Slice the mushrooms as thinly as you possibly can and put them into a shallow ovenproof dish, sufficiently wide that you don't need to pile the mushrooms. Have them in an even layer.

Spread the garlic butter as evenly as you can over the entire surface of the mushrooms – this is easiest done if the butter is very soft. You can do this a few hours ahead of baking.

Bake in a hot oven, 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6, for 20 minutes, or until the butter is bubbling around the mushrooms and the mushrooms feel quite soft when stuck with a knife. Keep the dish warm until you are ready to serve.

• For details on Claire's three-day residential cookery demonstrations at Kinloch Lodge, tel: [phone] or visit www.claire-macdonald.com