Lilly Higgins: A magic mushroom dinner with a secret ingredient

Autumn always means mushrooms to me, as they are popping up everywhere as the damper weather approaches. Huge flat caps appear overnight in fields and gardens. The more elusive and magical mushrooms such as giant puffballs and chanterelles need to be sought out with an expert eye.

I’m always wary of mushrooms, as some poisonous ones can look very similar to edible varieties. There are thousands of varieties. I’d always advise you to buy from a reputable source, or even better, book a foraging trip with an expert and let them guide you through woodlands and forests, pointing out what’s good to eat and what’s best to avoid.

I always pair mushrooms with pasta. It’s a favourite vegetarian dinner of ours. I keep tubs of white and red miso in the fridge for adding an extra dimension to soups, stews and stir fries. It’s widely available in larger supermarkets.

Here, this creamy miso sauce really livens the simple dish up. A deliciously simple umami-rich sauce comes together in no time thanks to the white miso paste, butter and Parmesan. All that’s needed then is a squeeze of lemon juice for a fresh pop of flavour.

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Pasta is very economical to make and takes minutes. Mushrooms, too, are cheap and plentiful. Even if I choose an amazing array of Irish mushrooms, they’ll still be very affordable. One of my favourite quick and easy meals for any time of the day is mushrooms on toast, sautéing the mushrooms then adding a little lemon juice and black pepper, before piling them high on a slice of buttered toast that’s been rubbed with a cut clove of garlic. It is so simple yet so satisfying.

I like to serve this pasta with a green salad on the side for an easy midweek dinner.

Lilly’s Kitchen Tips:

• Miso is ideal for adding to ramen and soups, making miso butter or adding depth to marinades.
• Add leftover chicken or ham as well as vegetables such as sautéed courgettes, peppers or sun-dried tomatoes to this simple pasta dish.
• Always reserve some starchy pasta water to loosen up sauces and give a smooth, velvety texture.

Recipe: Miso mushroom pasta