Roasted lemon, garlic and chilli mushrooms
I’ve made this recipe with all sorts of mushrooms and it works well with any variety. Just choose the freshest mushrooms you can find.
Serves 4 – 6
270ml extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 small eschalots (or 1 large), peeled and roughly chopped (or use 2 sliced spring onions)
3 small red chillies – 1 halved lengthwise, 2 finely chopped
¼ cup thyme leaves
Finely grated zest of 1 ½ lemons
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt flakes, plus extra, for sprinkling
900g mushrooms, sliced into fat wedges
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Tiny thyme sprigs, to garnish
Pour the oil into a small saucepan, then add the garlic, eschalot, and halved red chilli. Sit the pan over low-ish heat and bring to just below the boil so it bubbles very gently. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the thyme leaves, lemon zest, and sea salt flakes. Cover the pan with a lid, and leave the oil mixture to infuse for at least 20 minutes or up to 1 hour.
Preheat your oven to 220C and line a large-ish baking tray with baking paper.
Use an immersion (stick) blender or regular blender to puree the oil mixture. Strain it through a fine sieve into a jug, making sure you press down on the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much oil as possible. Discard the solids in the sieve.
Tip the mushrooms into a large bowl. Trickle the flavoured oil over the top, then use your hands to thoroughly mix the mushrooms and oil together so the mushrooms are glistening. Scrape the mixture onto the prepared baking tray and spread it out in a single layer.
Roast the mushrooms, stirring a couple of times, for about 20 minutes or until they’re tender and golden brown. Remove the tray from the oven, sprinkle the chopped chilli over the top, then tumble them into a serving dish. Sprinkle with a little more sea salt, grind over some black pepper, and garnish with thyme sprigs.