Mushrooms

The choice of cultivated mushrooms in the shops is increasing all the time. Button mushrooms are useful for their white flesh, which doesn’t discolour sauces, but for flavour I prefer the more meaty portabello, chestnut and field mushrooms. Wild mushrooms are expensive but delicious, and their flavours are so intense that just a few can be used to liven up a dish of cultivated mushrooms.

When buying mushrooms, look for firm specimens that smell fresh and are neither withered nor waterlogged. Store in the fridge in a paper bag with a few air holes in it and use within two or three days.