Wild mushroom and tarragon pate recipe

Here's a great recipe I adapted from several others to use up a plethora of wild mushrooms, that is, field mushrooms or Agaricus campestris.

I've only tried it with this moderately falvoursome species but suppose other varieties could be successfully substituted.

It seems mushroom and tarragon compliment each other well as there are loads of soup recipes online too.

Mushroom and tarragon pate

Ingredients

50g butter or olive-oil-based spread
2 shallots
1 small leek
2 garlic cloves
200g wild mushrooms
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp crème fraîche
3 tbsp fresh tarragon (or 1.5 tbsp dried)

Method

Melt the butter or spread in a large frying pan. Finely chop the shallots, leek and garlic, then gently fry for 5 minutes or until soft.

Finely chop the mushrooms, add them to the pan. Turn up the heat a little and add a little extra butter if they soak up all the oil. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring, until the juices have evaporated and the mushrooms are tender.

Add the mustard and crème fraiche plus a little salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 2 minutes more.

Finely chop the fresh tarragon and stir in. Don’t cook any further as it will reduce the tarragon flavour.


Once cool, it can be stored in the fridge for a few days. It goes well with toast or breadsticks. Enjoy!

Mushroom season brings a bumper crop

It's Field Mushroom season here in South Wales but it seems I may have been missing out.

I expect to see them first on our hillside in South Wales around the middle of August but some of my wife's patients in the Vale of Glamorgan mentioned they were already enjoying a bumper harvest in the first week of the month.

They may be a little later up here than in the coastal plains which are warmer being closer to the sea and at a lower altitude than our 550 feet (175m). But there are certainly plenty around now.

I try picking them between 9 and 10am and twice a week, though judging by the spoiled ones around I could be there every other day and still get plenty.

This morning I picked about 4lbs - all either of them had either sprouted out of the ground this morning or later yesterday. Any damaged or a bit manky looking get left.

Once picked, you need to use them quickly as they go soggy if left out.

I tried this recipe for Mushroom and Tarragon Pate on BBC Goodfood website and it was delicious. I simply used 200g of wild Field Mushrooms instead of shiitake and chestnut mushrooms and although the recipe called for fresh tarragon I used freeze-dried as I haven't any of the fresh stuff.

The taste is really quite strong but it went superbly on toast. I left one batch in the fridge for three days and it was still fine.