- GARLIC MUSHROOMS-

These are very garlicky: if you prefer. you can crush one fewer cloves of garlic for the filling. but in my view this spoils part of the pOint of the dish.

It is very easy to make but presents the problem that the mushrooms have to be cooked in a single layer and. particularly if they are very large. take up too much space to fit into the average large ovenware dish. One answer. obviously. is to use two dishes. but unless you have a fan-assisted oven. which ensures an even distribution of heat from top to bottom. this will mean changing them over at least once during baking or the lower one will cook more slowly. An easier solution is to use a baking-sheet covered with aluminium foil turned up at the edges to catch any liquid (there will not be much. as the mushrooms bake tidily and run little if any surplus juice).

The ideal would be to use very large mushrooms weighing 4 ozll 25 g each. so that there would be two per person; slightly smaller ones. however. take up less baking space.

Either the filling or the entire dish (if you have room in the refrigerator) can be prepared a day ahead.

Use stale bread for the breadcrumbs: fresh bread tends to tum into doughy lumps.

Servewith macaroni. pasta shells orpolenta.You will need to bake the polenta in advance (see p. 128) and reheat it: put it into the oven when the mushrooms have been cooking for 5-10 minutes. For 4.

- INGREDIENTS -

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 lb/l kg large mushrooms

2 oz/50 g stale wholemeal bread

(weighed without crust)

3 oz/90 g Parmesan cheese

I medium to large onion

7 medium cloves garlic

Salt Pepper

11f2 oz/40 g butter

Smallish bunch parsley (enough for 5 ozlI 50 g medium-fat soft cheese 2 tablespoons when chopped)

Baking-sheet

- METHOD -

Line the baking-sheet with two layers ofaluminium foil. Tum up the edges to make a rim and paint generously with oil. Cut off the mushroom stems; if they are long enough to make it worthwhile, trim the bottoms, wash and chop finely to add to the filling (ignore this if you are making only the filling in advance, as you will not want to prepare the mushroom caps until just before baking). Peel, rinse and dry the caps and lay gill side upwards on the foil -as theywill shrinkduring cooking, it does riot matter if they are very close together.

2 Finely grate the bread and the Parmesan. Trim the parsley stalks and wash; blot dry with kitchen paper and chop. Peel and finely chop the onion and 3 of the garlic cloves. Keep each ingredient separate.

3 Fry the onion in the oil over low heat, turning often, for �10 minutes or until soft and translucent but not brown; add the chopped garlic and the mushroom stems ifyou are using them, season lightly with salt and more moderately with pepper and continue frying, turningvery frequently, for 5-7 minutes or until the stems are soft and the onion about to change colour. Remove from the heat.

4 Unless you are preparing the dish in advance, pre-heat the oven to 375°F, 190°C, Gas Mark 5. Peel and roughly chop the other 4 cloves of garlic, put into a mortar and crush. Chop the butter into smallish cubes. Add to the mortar with the parsley, '12 teaspoon salt (or a little less if the butter is salted) and a fairly generous sprinkling of pepper. Pound to a paste.

5 Slightly mash the soft cheese with a fork. Add the parsley butter from the mortar, the Parmesan and the contents of the frying-pan, including the oil. Mix thoroughly.

6 Lightly season each mushroom with salt and pepper, spread with a thick layer of filling and top with a generous sprinkling of breadcrumbs. If you have prepared the dish in advance, cool, cover with foodwrap and store in the refrigerator. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until crisp and well browned.