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Parmesan Mushrooms

© Pat Churchill

When I was growing up, we lived on various air force bases around the country and come mushroom time there were some good pickings to be had. I'd set off in my gumboots, bucket in hand and traipse around the perimeter of the airfield in search of breakfast. There wasn't much in the way of aircraft flying in those days - certainly not while in the early morning when I was tramping over the dewy grass in search of treasure.

Those mushrooms had to be peeled and given a bit of laundering. They'd be tossed in a pan with some butter and a dash of milk. Occasionally there'd be really minute buggy things floating in the sauce but as the provider of the family breakfast, I was certainly not going to complain.

In those days mushrooms were a delicacy. You certainly didn't come across them at the greengrocer's. Cultivated mushrooms changed all that and now we can buy mushrooms all year round. In more recent times, in addition to white button mushrooms, Swiss browns - brown buttons - have been developed and we've also been able to buy flat browns or Portobellos. Portobellos are available as smaller breakfast mushrooms and as large barbecue mushrooms.

Brown mushrooms are closest in flavour to those mushrooms I used to gather as a child and they lend themselves to today's recipe which can be part of a barbecue (use the large ones) or served as an entrée (use breakfast mushrooms).

Parmesan Mushrooms

6 large or 18 breakfast mushrooms
salt flakes and freshly ground pepper
60g semi-dried tomato halves (from the delicatessen)
balsamic vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
a handful of ripped basil leaves
a few sprigs of fresh oregano
shaved parmesan cheese

Clean the mushrooms with a damp kitchen towel and trim the stalks. Brush or spray each side with a little oil. Grill or barbecue till soft. Place on individual dishes or a large serving platter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, sprinkle with a little balsamic vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil. Slice the semi-dried tomatoes into thin strips and strew over the mushrooms. Sprinkle on the torn basil leaves and oregano. Top generously with curls of shaved parmesan cheese. These can be served while the mushrooms are still warm, or at room temperature. Serves six.