Simple summer eating!

I am back with my next recipe in the Australian Mushroom Growers “Summer Mushrooms” campaign! It’s such fun to be involved in creating Aussie mushie recipes alongside some great foodie bloggers. You can find their recipes here.

Mushrooms are such a great superfood. They are nutrient rich, flavour rich, high in bioactive compounds (that means they are really good for you), easily available and affordable.

This recipe makes a great starter for a barbeque – hand around a platter and use the herby sauce as a dipper. You could also pop them on a big bed of rocket and drizzle with the sauce and serve as a side dish.

It takes no time at all to whack everything onto a skewer and whizz up the sauce while you are waiting for them to cook. Get the family involved in helping you – kids love skewers!

Mushroom and Haloumi Kebabs

Vital Stats: Vegetarian, grain free, gluten free, nut free, egg free, sugar free

Okay this is what you need:

24 Aussie button mushrooms

100g haloumi

1 large red capsicum

olive oil for brushing

1/2 bunch basil

1/2 bunch mint

2 tablespoons extra virgin Australian olive oil

1 small garlic clove, crushed

1 teaspoon lemon juice

black pepper and pink salt to taste

Okay this is what you do:

Soak 8 small or 4 large bamboo skewers in water.

Wipe the mushrooms gently with wet paper towel or a microfibre fruit and vegetable cloth.

Cut the haloumi and the capsicum into cubes, a similar size to the mushrooms.

Thread the mushrooms, haloumi and capsicum onto the skewers.

Brush with olive oil. Cook under a hot grill or on the bbq – about ten minutes or until soft and starting to brown.

While that’s cooking, make the herby sauce. It’s actually called a pistou – sort of like pesto but without the cheese and nuts!

Throw the herbs, oil, garlic, juice, salt and pepper into a food processor or thermomix and blitz until combined. I like mine a bit chunky but keep processing if you like it smooth.

To serve, just pour the herby sauce over the kebabs or put it on the side in a dipping bowl.

For more info and amazing recipes using mushrooms, check out the Australian Mushroom Growers website or Facebook page.

Do you cook mushrooms on the barbie? Share your ideas with us.

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Simple Summer Eating!

The lovely people at Australian Mushroom Growers asked me to be a part of their “Summer Mushrooms” campaign and I jumped at the chance to do a bit of recipe creation using real, whole foods with Aussie mushies as the star.

My first thought was my vegetarian friends. How often they are neglected at barbeques and gatherings, left eating a green salad! Mushrooms are an amazing food for vegos (as well as the rest of us).

Mushies have a really rich, satisfying flavour and are good at leaving you feel satiated. They also are full of nutrients including Vitamin D and B12 and loads of antioxidants. You can find out more nutrition info here.

This recipe is perfect for summer entertaining.

Mushrooms just cry out to be stuffed with something yummy – they are nature’s pastry shells! Perfect for people that are avoiding gluten and grains. You can serve them as an appetizer on a big platter with wedges of lemon. Or find some of the big field mushrooms to stuff and you have a lovely vegetarian main course. This recipe makes ten mouthful size mushrooms -double the recipe if you are cooking for a crowd.

Walnut and Fetta Stuffed Mushrooms

Vital Stats: gluten free, grain free, egg free, sugar free, vegetarian

This is what you need:

10 medium Aussie mushrooms

4 tablespoons chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons thyme

70g goats fetta or soft fetta

2 teaspoons lemon zest

cracked black pepper and pink Himalayan salt to taste

olive oil

This is how you do it:

Preheat your oven to 200ºc.

Wipe your mushrooms with damp paper towel or a microfibre fruit and vege cloth.

Push the mushroom stalk gently forward until it snaps out of the mushrooms. Set aside.

Chuck the mushroom stalks, walnuts, thyme, fetta, lemon zest, salt and pepper into a food processor or thermomix.

Pulse or turbo gently a few times until combined well. Don’t make it too mushy (see what I did there?)

Using a spoon, gently stuff the mixture into the mushroom caps.

Throw your mushies into a heatproof dish and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft and the stuffing is just going brown.

Enjoy!

[box] HOT TIP! This recipe is baked in the oven but if it’s way too hot to turn the oven on, whack them on the barbeque in a heatproof dish and put the hood down. [/box]

For more info and amazing recipes using mushrooms, check out the Australian Mushroom Growers website or Facebook page.

Keep an eye out next month, I have another recipe for you! Do you have a favourite way of preparing mushies? Share with us and spread the mushy love!

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