When I was a child, how I used to love going mushrooming with my grandparents at their farm in central Victoria. I still enjoy finding and collecting mushrooms, it is just a little harder these days. Back then it was so easy. We would take a knife and a large basket each and off we would walk into their paddocks and those of nearby farmers. No-one seemed to mind people mushrooming in their paddocks! We would collect many baskets full and then go home and clean them. I remember this being quite a time consuming task wiping off all the dirt and then we always peeld the skins off as well. My grandmother simply cooked them in pan with some butter – sometimes whole, sometimes finely sliced, with just a little salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice, just at the end of the cooking.
Remember to cook them in a very hot pan with bubbling butter and a little oil… a few at a time so they do not stew in their own juice. The idea is to toss them around and brown them without letting them exude their moisture and stew. The pan should remain quite dry of mushroom juice.
These days we do not need to peel the commercially grown mushrooms, just a quick wipe with the kitchen paper towel is enough before preparing them to cook.
