Anne Morton's Nutty Portabello Mushrooms

June 11, 2002

Mushrooms were a rare treat when I was a child. We lived on Air Force bases as I was growing up and there was a lot of grass near the various airfields.

When it seemed like "mushroom weather" I would set out from home early in the morning with a bucket and go harvesting mushrooms.

There was something magical about a still morning and the wonderful sight of little white caps pushing their way up through the grass.

On a good day I would have my bucket full in no time and would carry my booty home for Mum to prepare a weekend breakfast or a Sunday night treat.

In those days we peeled the mushrooms and would need to give them a rinse as they sometime had minute bugs in then - more like specks of dark dust than anything else. Mum use to toss them in a pan with butter and maybe a little milk and they would be served with rounds of buttered toast and bacon.

I used to spend frequent holidays on an uncle's farm and that was another great place to go harvesting mushrooms. The cousins and I would roam the paddocks filling our buckets. We had to fetch plenty - country air certainly gives one a good appetite.

Nowadays mushrooms are an everyday thing, readily available at the supermarket and we have the use our imagination for presenting them in different ways.

Recently my friends at Meadow Mushrooms held a recipe competition and Wellington food writer Anne Morton won the prize with the following recipe:

Nutty Portabello Mushrooms

Anne says these mushrooms are delicious for an entree or with the addition of jacket potatoes and salad greens, make an interesting vegetarian meal.

6 large portabello mushrooms lemon pepper
1/4 cup each finely chopped pistachios, almonds and hazelnuts
6 white button mushrooms, finely chopped
1/4 cup sliced black olives
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons dried white breadcrumbs
1/4 teaspoon each salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin oil
1 egg
sesame seeds
shaved parmesan

Using a damp paper towel, wipe mushrooms. Place into a lightly oiled baking dish. Season with salt and a generous sprinkling of lemon peppers. Set aside.

Using a nonstick pan, dry roast pistachios, almonds and hazelnuts until golden (approximately 10 minutes) stirring continuously. Remove from heat.

Add white buttons, olives, lemon zest, juice, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, oil and egg. Mix well. Divide mixture into six. Carefully mould a portion over each mushrooms, covering cap completely. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and shaved parmesan. Drizzle a little olive oil over each cap. Bake at 180C for 20 minutes or until t ender. Lemon wedges and a sprig of parsley make a good garnish.