Phenomenal Fungi!

Creamy tarragon mushrooms on crunchy sourdough toast.

I don’t know about you, but mushrooms are one of my favourite foods.

Not only have they got a lovely meaty texture which makes a vegetarian meal more satisfying, but they are low in calories and extremely healthy too.

Technically, (watch out: geek alert!) they are neither a plant nor an animal but a fungus, which is a separate group entirely (I didn’t know that – did you know that?).  In terms of your diet though, you can count them as one of your five a day.

Bursting with goodness, these little fellas are a good source of B vitamins, trace minerals selenium and copper, and they contain small amounts of vitamin D too (usually the sunshine vitamin brought right down to earth!)  These super amazing nutrients help fight against cancer, protect against chronic disease, and strengthen the immune system.  If all that isn’t good enough, because they fill you up and are low calorie, they aid with weight management too.  And you don’t have to buy fancy mushrooms to get all the extra benefits – plain old white mushrooms are just as good as the more exotic types.  I don’t know about fungi – it sounds like mushrooms are good guys too!

Anyway, if all this talk of food has got you salivating, here’s a quick recipe.  It would be good as a brunch or lunch (and I tell you, it will crunch as you munch!)

Ingredients

500g mushrooms (such as wild, chestnut, portobello, or just plain white)

1 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves, crushed

Few sprigs of tarragon

4 slices of sourdough bread

2 tbsp soy cream

Handful of fresh flatleaf parsley, finely chopped

Method

• Slice the mushrooms and heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat, then fry the garlic for 30 seconds.
• Add the mushrooms and tarragon and continue to cook. Meanwhile, toast the sourdough.
• Once the mushrooms are browned, add the soy cream and parsley, then season to taste.
• Serve on toast.
• Enjoy! You won’t have ‘mushroom’ for dessert after you’ve eaten this!

NOTE: I’ve used non-dairy versions of fat and cream to reduce the saturated fat, so this recipe is perfect for the heart-conscious, for veggies or those with an intolerance.  Feel free to tweak this recipe to your own taste, and if you’re coeliac or gluten intolerant, a gluten free sourdough will be just as tantalising on those taste buds.