field mushrooms with feta & olive dressing
serves 4
This is a great thing to serve vegetarian guests who wil be so excited
that you’ve gone beyond the standard veggie lasagne or risotto.
The dressing also tastes great with lamb chops so you could cook
up a few if you need to keep any carnivores placated.
Serve with some crusty bread or mashed potato to soak up the
mushroomy dressing juices and a simple green salad.
4 large field mushrooms
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
200g (3 1/2oz) marinated feta
handful small olives
Heat a large frying pan on the highest heat. Add a few
tablespoons olive oil and add the mushies. Cover and cook for
about 4 minutes. Turn and cook for another 4 minutes or until
mushrooms are soft.
Meanwhile, mix vinegar and mustard with 4 tablespoons extra
virgin olive oil. When mushies are cooked, turn stalk side up. Divide clumps of feta between the  mushrooms and drizzle over feta and olives.
Allow the dressing to warm through before serving.

Foraging notes 


Foraging for edible fungi is utterly absorbing and, 
once you experience it, you are likely to be smitten 
by the hunting fever. However, it is not without 
rules. There are very few. but they must be followed 
if the outcome of your foray is to be a happy one. 
1 If In doubt, DO NOT EAT IT. 
You must know for sure that the mushrooms you intend 
to eat are not poisonous. A few species are lethal; many
more cause severe stomach upsets. H you have any doubt 
about the safety of any species. do not eat it. Accurate 
identification can be obta:ined from a mycologist or from
a reliable mushroom
book. To discover a mushroom's 
identity, note its habitat and look at the whole of it, from 
the top of its cap to the base of its stem. If the cap is ripe,a
spore print can be taken as well . 
2 Don't take fI1n.g1 from. a pmtected habitat. 
Some national parks and other places open to the public 
have regulations regarding the collecting of fungi. These
rules are posted at prominent pomts and should not be 
ignored. if you wish to avoid prosecution. 
3 aelpect the ownenblp of. private land. 
If you wish to hunt in fields, woods, golf courses, or parks, 
you should always first ask the landowner's permission . 
.. Behave though. 
Don't trample on plants or flowers, rake the forest floor, 
or break branches and fences. Keep dogs under control, 
and voices down-the quietness of the habitat is one that 
should be revered. Above all, take only what you need 
and leave something for feIIow hunters to pick. 
The leeroh for fungi can take you into beautiful place 

Edible Mushrooms ...

It could be said that there are three motivations for those who enjoy gathering wild, edible

mushrooms. The first is primitive: we love to hunt for free food. The second is commercial: some species

can be sold for astonishingly high prices. The third is the one that I think applies to most

mushroom gatherers and, I hope, to the readers of

this blog  it is aesthetic. The object is not just to find

the ingredients for a tasty meal or to make a

small addition to the bank balance, for the search

for mushrooms can take us into incredibly

beautiful places, where we will be captivated by

their perfection, the strangeness of their life-cycle,

and their unpredictable habits.The pastime is given

an extra edge by the uncertainty of their appearing at all. 

There are days when we just know that any chance of ahaul is slight. On other days, we can sense that mushrooms will be there, ready for the picking. And when we find a bumper crop, it is thrilling.We tell everyone about it, and even share ourbounty-but we keep its location a secret, to be told only to our families or our closest friends.