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Wild mushrooms on toast

with lemon and thyme seeded crumb

Serves 4 as a starter, or 2 as a lunch

I made this dish for 120 people from the kitchen of a pub in Borough Market with a brigade of brilliant female food writers and chefs. We were cooking a dinner to raise money for the food poverty charity Action Against Hunger, and even though it’s just fancy mushrooms on toast, it went down a storm – though the logistical effort of cleaning wild mushrooms and making toast for that many people is not something I wish to repeat!

Try to sniff out wild mushrooms, which have more of an interesting woodland flavour than standard ‘shrooms, and come into season from early autumn onwards – girolles and porcini work well but if you can’t find them, try chestnut or oyster. The crumb provides extra texture and lovely nuttiness thanks to the toasty, malty quality of the buckwheat. The butter and crumb can both be made in advance.

4 thick slices of sourdough bread (shop-bought or (see here))

1 garlic clove, peeled and halved

½ tbsp rapeseed or neutral oil

500g wild mushrooms (see tip), cleaned (larger ones halved)

leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme

lemon juice, to taste

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the seeded crumb

2 thick slices of sourdough bread (shop-bought or (see here))

2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

2 tbsp buckwheat groats

2 tbsp olive oil

grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

leaves from 4 sprigs of thyme

½ tsp dried chilli flakes

sea salt

For the garlic and herb butter

1 shallot, peeled and quartered

1 tsp sea salt

2 garlic cloves

20g flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked

10g tarragon, leaves picked

1 tbsp lemon juice

70g unsalted butter, at room temperature, diced

1 First, make the crumb. Blitz the bread in a food processor until it forms breadcrumbs. Heat a heavy-based dry frying pan or skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the pumpkin seeds and buckwheat groats and toast for 2–3 minutes, until the buckwheat is golden and the pumpkin seeds are puffed, popped and crunchy. Transfer to a bowl and put the pan back on the hob over a medium heat. Add the olive oil along with the lemon zest, thyme and chilli flakes and stir to infuse for a minute, then add the breadcrumbs and toast them in the oil for 3–5 minutes, until golden and crunchy – it usually takes a bit longer than you’d expect. Scrape all the crumbs into the bowl with the pumpkin seeds and buckwheat. Season with sea salt. Pour into a jar or airtight container once cool, or use immediately.

2 Make the butter by blitzing the shallot, salt and garlic cloves in the small bowl of a food processor or mini chopper, followed by most of the herbs (saving a few for garnish) and the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, add the diced butter and blitz to make a green butter. Scrape out of the food processor and into a bowl by the hob.

3 Toast the sourdough and rub it with the garlic. Keep warm in a low oven with the plates while you cook the mushrooms.

4 Place the pan back over a medium-high heat and pour in the rapeseed or neutral oil. Add the mushrooms with the thyme and a pinch of salt and fry for a couple of minutes, until they are caramelised and losing their moisture – they will shrink a little and you want to see some nice dark colour on them. Turn the heat down slightly, add all the butter, stirring to melt, and baste the mushrooms with it. Taste, season to your liking and maybe add a little lemon juice to pique the flavours. Serve spooned over the warm toast with the crumb scattered over.

TIP: Look out for a mix of girolles, chestnut, oyster, blewit, black trompette and cep/porcini. If you love wild mushrooms as much as I do, it’s worth investing in a mushroom brush, but you can also use a damp kitchen towel to get rid of any dirt or grit.