Springtime in Melbourne has been unseasonally wet. Consequently, little mounds of toadstools or mushrooms have been sprouting on our lawn. My daughter asked if we could pick them, and I was quick to tell her that they could make us quite ill.

This event took me back to a time, when, as a little girl, I joined my dad and uncle on a long drive to a friend’s farm, to pick mushrooms. We foraged about on large fields, my uncle indicating which ones I could pick and place into my large hessian sack. Nowadays, I’m somewhat saddened that, unlike my parents, I do not have the necessary skills and knowledge to forage.  Some time back, I read an article about Ben Shewry, the head chef of multi-award winning restaurant Attica. In the article, Ben talks of how he begins his day by foraging for ingredients to use in his restaurant. Luckily, there are a few people around Melbourne who run workshops on foraging. I hope to get to one of these workshops soon.

In the meantime, I will continue to use commercially available mushrooms to make this quick entree, or perhaps…easy TV dinner on the weekend.

Note: It might seen a little unusual to add tofu to this Mediterranean dish, but it serves to combine the flavour of the mushrooms with the other components of this dish. Yummy!!

You will need:

4 -6 Portobello mushrooms

100 grams sliced firm tofu

6-8 pitted kalamata olives

50 grams soft goats cheese

1 tsp grated parmesan cheese

6-8 quartered cherry tomatoes

2-3 thyme sprigs

Olive oil to drizzle

Salt and Pepper

How to prepare:

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp cloth. Trim the stem and add a sprinkle of salt. Top with sliced tofu, parmesan cheese, tomotoes, kalamata olives, thyme and finish with goats cheese on top.  Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for 25 minutes, then set under a grill for 3-5 minutes.

Serve.