Make marinated button mushrooms. Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic and thyme in a shallow plate. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Add mushrooms. Toss to coat. Stand for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally.
Divide lettuce between 4 bowls. Arrange cucumber, tomatoes and radish over salad. Drain mushrooms, reserving 2 tablespoons marinade. Add mushrooms to serving bowls. Add 2 tablespoons oil to reserved marinade. Stir to combine.
Heat remaining oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add haloumi. Cook for 1 minute each side or until golden and soft. Arrange haloumi in bowls. Drizzle with dressing. Serve sprinkled with seed mix.
Cook’s note: These marinated mushrooms are great also for an antipasto shared plate or to toss through a Summer salad.
You can also use 200g brown button; or 200g larger mushrooms such as Swiss brown or cup, quartered
Prep: 15 mins | Cooking time: 12 mins | Makes: 2 pizzas
300g fresh ricotta
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 x 250g packets pizza dough (see note)
100g baby potatoes, very thinly sliced
200g brown cup mushrooms, sliced; or brown or white button mushrooms, sliced; or larger mushrooms halved and sliced
Baby rocket leaves, to serve
Preheat oven to 240°C/220°C fan-forced. Combine ricotta, parmesan, 2 tablespoons oil and garlic in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. With oiled hands, spread each pizza dough over 2 greased baking trays. Crumble ricotta mixture over bases. Arrange potato over ricotta. Top with mushroom. Drizzle with remaining oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until base is cooked and mushrooms are golden.
Sprinkle with rocket. Drizzle with extra oil. Serve.
Cook’s note: You can find fresh pizza dough in the refrigerated section, near the fresh pasta. But you can also use a ready-made pizza base from the bakery section of the supermarket.
Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes or until golden. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic. Cook stirring for 30 seconds. Stir through spinach. Cook for 1 minute or until spinach starts to wilt.
Make 4 holes in pan. Break an egg into each hole. Cook, covered, for 4-5 minutes or until white is set. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle eggs with paprika. Serve immediately with toasted bread.
Prep: 15 mins | Cooking time: 25 mins | Serves: 12
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
200g swiss brown mushrooms, diced;
or 200g white mushrooms, diced
1 red onion, finely chopped
375g cream cheese, softened
½ cup whole-egg mayonnaise
½ cup grated tasty cheese
40g packet French onion soup mix
¼ cup finely chopped chives, plus extra to serve
450g white cob loaf
Vegetable sticks, to serve
Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add mushroom and onion. Cook, stirring, for 4 minutes or until golden and liquid has evaporated.
Reserve 2 tablespoons mushroom mixture. Combine remaining mushroom mixture in a large bowl with cream cheese, mayonnaise, tasty cheese, soup mix and chives. Season with pepper.
Use a serrated knife to cut 4cm from top of cob loaf and reserve. Remove bread from centre of loaf, leaving a 2cm-thick shell. Tear bread pieces into 3cm pieces. Spoon mushroom mixture into shell. Sprinkle with reserved mushroom mixture. Top with lid. Place on prepared tray. Arrange bread pieces around cob. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle with extra chives. Serve with vegetable sticks.
Make Kabobs Combine sriracha, oil, smoked paprika and pepper in a large bowl. Halve any larger mushroom so they are roughly the same size. Add mushrooms to sriracha mixture. Gently toss to coat. Using 2 skewers at a time, skewer mushrooms (see note). Heat a large frying pan or barbecue grill on high. Reduce heat to medium. Char-grill mushrooms for 10-12 minutes, turning occasionally or until lightly charred and tender.
Make Tabbouleh Place bulgur in a heatproof bowl. Add enough boiling water to cover, then set aside for 10 minutes. Drain in a sieve, pressing down with the back of a spoon to drain excess moisture. Set aside to cool. Combine with remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Make Garlic Yoghurt Sauce Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Assemble To assemble, spoon some tabbouleh onto flat bread. Top with mushroom and red onion. Serve drizzled with yoghurt sauce.
Cook’s notes: Using 2 skewers instead of 1 makes it easier to turn the mushrooms on the barbecue and they are less likely to fall off. If using wooden skewers, you’ll need to soak them in water for 10 minutes to avoid scorching. You can also buy ready-made tabbouleh if you run out of time.
To level up the heat in the kabob, increase sriracha to 1 tablespoon. For hotter still, use ⅓ of a cup of sriracha instead. For the hottest of the hot, sprinkle 5 finely chopped Birdseye chillies and 2 teaspoons of dried chilli flakes onto the cooked kabob..
Preheat oven to 220°C/200°C fan-forced. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion. Cook, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes or until softened. Add mushroom, garlic and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-7 minutes or until liquid has evaporated and mushrooms start to golden. Transfer to a large plate. Refrigerate for 10 minutes to cool.
Meanwhile, place 1 egg, beans and mustard in bowl of small food processor. Process until smooth. Place cooled mushroom mixture in a large bowl. Add bean mixture, breadcrumbs and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
Place 1/4 of the filling along 1 long side of 1 pastry half. Roll up pastry to enclose filling. Carefully cut into 6 pieces (filling is quite soft). Place, seam-side down, on prepared trays. Repeat with remaining filling and pastry. Lightly beat remaining egg. Brush pastry with egg. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until pastry is golden and puffed. Serve with tomato sauce.
