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Not much of a forager? No problem. Thanks to Woolies, you don’t have to head into the woods to get top-quality speciality mushrooms. For the soup-lovers and sauciers, portabellinis, with their meaty texture and rich, earthy flavour are guaranteed to become a fridge staple, while fans of Asian tempura and braaied mushrooms will love king oyster for their firm texture and mild flavour.

If stir-fries are regularly on the menu, shimejis, which have a mild, nutty taste and keep a slight crunch after hitting the heat, are a great bet. And, for vegetarians wanting to blow the socks off their meat-eating guests, shiitake, with their slightly woody, buttery flavour and fleshy texture are the secret to umami success. Of course, there’s no rule against mixing and matching your favourites.

BUTTER-AND-THYME EXOTIC MUSHROOMS WITH MUSHROOM "BACON"

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Brush with 2 T grapeseed oil. Toss 220 g thinly sliced king oyster mushrooms with 1 T Woolworths hickory liquid smoke and lay on the tray in a single layer. Season both sides. Roast for 20 minutes. Turn and cook until browned and crisp, about 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and drain on kitchen paper. Quarter 300 g Woolworths exotic mushrooms and heat 50 g butter in a pan. Add half the mushrooms and stir-fry until they start to brown and soften. Remove and cook the remaining mushrooms in the same way. Return all the mushrooms to the pan and add 4 smashed cloves garlic, 4 sprigs thyme, black pepper and more butter to taste. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Pile onto slices of toast and top with the mushroom “bacon” and Parmesan.

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