Mushrooming Mary

Last week my old school friend Mary posted on her Facebook status that she was heading into the woods at the weekend to go mushrooming. We're not sixteen anymore, so I hoped she didn't mean the magic kind, but with Mad Mazza you never know. Mary was a favourite boozing partner of my youth - the girl whose idea it was to get boxed wine for a bus trips to the 6th form social, because then you could inflate the empty bag inside as a pillow for the journey home. A legend. Well, it must be a sign of our age as it turns out that wild as she used to be, Mary's mushrooming mission was nothing to do with hallucinogens. In fact, she was in the pursuit of some flavourful beauties to cook with, and she knows an awful lot more about the different varieties than I probably ever will. So, this week I am sharing a recipe of my own creation for wild mushroom linguine and dedicating it to Mary. As luck would have it, it also includes white wine (though I wouldn't necessarily advocate the boxed kind) so I hope she likes it.

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of olive oil or truffle oil if you're feeling flash

2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 large red onion, cut in half then sliced horizontally so you get long ribbons when the slices break up

500g of mixed mushrooms, chopped - go for the craziest ones you can find in the supermarket but try and include some porcinis if you can as they have fabulous flavour

2 tablespoons plain flour

2 large glasses nice white wine

1 jar of wild mushroom antipasto, drained (this is optional but really adds to the flavour if you can get it)

1 small tub of creme fraiche (or double cream if you want to really push the boat out)

Linguine

Fresh grated parmesan to serve

1. Fry the onions and garlic in the oil over a medium heat until they begin to soften but not colour, and while you do that get your linguine (follow the pack instructions) cooking in a pan of salted boiling water

2. Add in the mushrooms and cook them until they start to brown ever so slightly

3. Sprinkle over the flour and stir in thoroughly, then add the wine a little splash at a time, stirring it in as you go to avoid lumps

4. Add in the drained mushroom antipasto

5. Simmer gently and continue stirring constantly until the alcohol from the wine and any vinegar from the antipasto has completely evaporated - you can tell this by giving it a good sniff - if it smells boozey, keep it cooking a bit longer (otherwise your creme fraiche / cream will curdle when you add it).

6. Stir in the creme fraiche/ cream and bring back to a simmer

7. Drain your linguine and add it to the mushroom sauce

8. Mix it all up and serve it with a healthy sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan and a piece of garlic bread if you can manage it.