Let's have some fungi

Without them, I am not a fan of dried mushrooms. A handful added to sauce or stock as flavouring is their only benefit. The answer lies on supermarket shelves: flat cap, button or chestnut mushrooms can be delicious, cooked patiently. I pan-fry in hot oil to caramelise before adding a knob of butter: the nuttiness raises the humble staples to fabulous funghi. Slivers of softened garlic, melting diced shallots and pinches of tarragon and thyme are essential partners. Bacon helps; or fry them in the same pan in which you have cooked some meat. A swirl of cream with grain mustard creates a gourmet treat.

Recipes serve four

Flat-cap mushroom risotto

250g carnarolli or Arborio risotto rice

150ml white wine

500ml boiling water

50g dried ceps

1 small white onion or Spanish onion, peeled and very finely diced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 lemon

3 flat-cap mushrooms

80g cold unsalted butter, cut into even-sized cubes

1 rounded dsstsp chopped parsley and tarragon

100g freshly grated parmesan

Method

1. Place the dried mushrooms in a heat-proof bowl and pour the boiling water over then leave to stand for 20 minutes. Drain through a colander, reserving the liquid, discarding the last little bit of water which will almost certainly have dirt in it. Also reserve the dried mushrooms now they have been drained. Rinse then chop them roughly and set aside for now.

2. Heat a wide saucepan. Add three-quarters of the butter and allow to melt then add the onion and garlic. Stir regularly, add a good pinch of salt, and sweat until softened without allowing to colour.

3. Remove the base from the flat-cap mushrooms; you can add these to the infusing mushroom stock. Chop the cap of the mushrooms into 1cm dice and add to pan. Stir in well, season with a little pepper then add the chopped drained dried mushrooms. Sweat for five more minutes stirring regularly.

4. Place the mushroom stock you have made in a separate saucepan and bring back to the boil.

5. Meanwhile, add the rice to the pan with the mushrooms and onions and stir to coat, fry gently until the edges of the grains of rice begin to turn opaque. Add the wine to the rice and turn up the heat so it boils and evaporates almost completely, keep stirring regularly or the rice may stick.

6. Now add half the mushroom stock to the pan of rice and stir steadily as the stock simmers and is absorbed by the rice. While it simmers you must stir gently and regularly so the rice is moving, to prevent sticking to the pan base. Once the stock seems almost absorbed, add half the remaining stock and repeat the stirring and absorbing process. Taste the rice. It should be tender but with a slight bite at the centre. If your rice is chalky, continue with more stock; if it is tender, remove from the heat. This step, from the first addition of stock to being ready, should take around 15 minutes.

7. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the parmesan and stir in then add the lemon zest and juice. Finally stir in the remaining butter. Taste for seasoning and finish with the chopped herbs. The consistency should be creamy, not sticky, each grain loose and individual yet they should all be bound in an unctuous creaminess. If it is too thick or stodgy, loosen with a little more liquid. Divide between four warmed serving dishes and shave parmesan over the top, using a speed peeler, then serve at once.

Roast pork chops with mushroom and grain mustard cream sauce

For the meat:

4 pork chops

1 sprig of thyme

2 cloves garlic

Olive oil

Unsalted butter

Sea salt flakes and fresh ground black pepper

For the sauce:

200g chestnut mushrooms

2 shallots peeled and diced finely

3 flat-cap mushrooms

1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely sliced

Olive oil and a knob of butter

1 rounded dsstsp chopped tarragon

150ml white wine

100ml double cream

1 rounded dsstsp crème fraiche

Pinch of smoked paprika

1 dsstsp grain mustard, to taste

Method

1. Slice the chestnut mushrooms finely and set aside. Remove the stalk and the gills from the flat-cap mushrooms (these can be kept for soup or stock). Slice the caps lengthways in two then slice across each piece to give chunky slivers. Set aside.

2. Pre-heat oven to 180C. Heat a wide frying pan for one minute over a medium high heat then add enough oil to make a light film. Season the first two of the pork chops all over then place these in the pan. Add the garlic and the thyme to flavour the oil. Fry both sides of the chops until golden brown then lift out onto an oven-proof tray. Repeat with the remaining two chops then spoon the juices from the pan together with the thyme and garlic, over the chops. Place a small knob of butter on each chop then transfer the tray to the oven to cook for 15 minutes, turning them over halfway through. You can baste with the roasting juices at this point as well. Once done, remove from the oven to rest on the tray, loosely covered with tin foil.

3. Meanwhile reheat the pan in which the chops were sealed and add a little more oil. Add the garlic and shallot and season with a little salt then, stirring regularly, sweat without colouring over a very gentle heat until softened, for a couple of minutes. Now turn up the heat and add all the mushrooms. Season lightly with salt and pepper; if the pan seems a little dry, add a dash more oil and a little more butter. Stir from time to time to ensure the contents do not burn or become over brown. Add a knob of butter after five minutes of frying then stir regularly. Continue frying for a further five minutes.

4. Add the wine and bring to the boil, allowing it to simmer so that you are reducing it by half, then add the mustard, cream and crème fraiche. Bring these to the boil then remove from the heat. Swirl in the herbs and add a little dusting of smoked paprika. Stir to mix well then taste and adjust as needed.

5. Meanwhile, once the chops have rested, divide them among four serving plates and serve with perhaps a creamy mash or boiled new potatoes to crush into the sauce, and leafy Savoy cabbage or red cabbage. Pour any roasting juices from the meat tray into the mushroom sauce. Spoon the mushroom sauce over the chops as well as around the plate, then serve at once.

Geoffrey Smeddle is the chef patron of The Peat Inn by St Andrews, Fife, Ky15 5LH 01334 840206