Mushrooms and Walnuts

Carmen

Hello, my neighbour has given me some wonderful field mushrooms and I want to do something special with them, rather then just use them in a full english. Any ideas please?

Any ideas what I can do with walnuts? I have never pickled them, not keen on pickled anything! I would really like to try and do something with them this year, other than just using them in cakes etc.

Many thanks
Carmen x

ChocClare

Two recipes for field mushrooms:
Chicken and field mushroom pie
8oz shortcrust pastry
1oz butter
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
1oz flour
Half a pint of chicken stock
2 tblsps dry white wine or sherry
6oz field mushrooms, washed and sliced
1lb cooked chicken, cut into small pieces
Pepper and salt.

Preheat oven to Gas 6/400F. Melt the butter in a pan, add the onion and cook gently until softened. Add flour and stir, then remove from heat and add stock and wine. Return to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring, until the mixture has thickened. Add mushrooms and simmer. Stir in the chicken and season to taste. Put mixture into a pie dish, cover with pastry, leaving hole in lid for steam to escape. Bake for approx 35 mins until pastry is golden brown. Serve hot.

My friend Barbara's FANTASTIC mushroom pies (these are incredibly rich - make them small - great for parties [though why waste them on guests?!])
8oz butter
8oz philadelphia-type cheese
3 tblsps cream
12oz flour
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp water
2 slices rye bread
3 tblsps butter
1 large onion, diced finely
5oz field mushrooms (or flat mushrooms)
2 tsps dill
2 hard boiled eggs

Cream butter and cheese - mix and leave to soften. Beat in cream. Rub in 11oz flour plus salt - chill. Roll out 1/8" thick. (This is a sticky pastry, so you'll need to use the extra flour for dusting.)
Cook mushrooms in very little water until soft. Drain, reserving water. Fry onions in butter, then add mushrooms. Cook for a couple of mins, then add dill, mashed hard-boiled eggs. Season well.
Meanwhile soak bread in mushroom water, then add to frying pan and mix well. Add a drop of sour cream if you have it to hand.
Put spoonfuls of mixture onto rectangles of pastry. Seal, brush with egg and water. Bake for 15 mins at Gas 5 or until golden brown.

What sort of thing do you want to do with the walnuts? I've got a fantastic Christmas stuffing recipe, but it only needs 4oz walnuts - any good?

buffers

Try grating cheese - mix with chopped spring onions spread mixture on top of mushrooms and grill. Delicious!!!

Carmen

Thank you Clare and Buffers, I will certainly give those a try.

Clare, I really need some ideas for many many kilo's, my tree is ladened this year!

Many thanks
Carmen x

Carmen

Sorry Clare, yes the stuffing recipe would be nice also.
Thanks

se999

For walnuts use them in nutloaf recipes or nut burgers, lots of recipes you can swap one type of nut for another.

You can also just chop them up and use as part of a home made muesli mix (the nuts are the expensive bit, so a major saving).

Walnut's go with Stilton, so if you use google or alta vista for 'stilton and walnut recipes you get lots of hits! e.g. This one for stilton & walnut parcels.

http://www.waitrose.com/food_drink/recipes/recipesearch/Recipe/02xmas58-r01.asp

One favorite treat recipe is walnut and goats cheese parcels:

You get filo pastry and cut about 6" squares, put some chopped walnuts in the middle, then about a 1cm deep ring of goats cheese, pull up the edges so it looks like a little pouch and put into a hot oven until golden brown, serve with a rocket salad as a starter.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

myrnahaz

It's a bit late to pickle walnuts - I think you have to pick them in early June so that the shells are still soft. You could always leave them for the squirrels.

Carmen

Thank you 999, that all sounds delicious, I will definately use them for nut loaf (veggie here)
Myrna, my walnuts are just starting to fall. Are you saying they should be pickled in the shells? Never seen walnuts with soft shells!
TY
Carmen x

rchddap1

Walnuts....with some I would make a Walnut & coffee cake (standard victoria sponge, but add some coffee flavouring, chopped walnuts and do the same for the butter icing filling)...the rest would somehow disappear into my stomach.

myrnahaz

Carmen wrote:

Thank you 999, that all sounds delicious, I will definately use them for nut loaf (veggie here)
Myrna, my walnuts are just starting to fall. Are you saying they should be pickled in the shells? Never seen walnuts with soft shells!
TY
Carmen x

Yes, bizarrely, you pickle the whole thing - including the outer shell, (the bit that looks like a conker skin without the prickles). But you have to harvest them before the inner shell hardens (about May or June).

Carmen

Thanks Myrna, then I am definately too late!

Carmen x