The Ancient Egyptians believed mushrooms were magical and a gift of the Gods. Today, while no one really believes that eating these will make you immortal, this variety of fungus is held in high esteem by foodies the world over.

While most mushrooms are edible, there are those that are toxic. The only safe mushrooms (unless you’re trained in mycology) are those purchased from a grocer.

Coming to the different varieties, there’s the popular portabella (nothing more than an overgrown common brown mushroom), shitake (Chinese black mushroom) and dried varieties like porcini, chanterelle and morel.

Mushrooms are a very versatile food. While saut?eing is the most popular method of enjoying them, they can also be grilled, roasted and barbecued. Soup is an all-time favourite, but mushrooms are extensively used in stuffings, breads, pastas, rice and pat?! There is also an ancient recipe for mushroom ketchup. Interestingly, this was one of the original ketchups, based on a recipe that British sailors tried to emulate when they returned from the Far East. It wasn’t until the 18th century that tomatoes were used to make ketchup!

mushrooms in tomato cream sauce

Ingredients: 250gms fresh mushrooms; 1/4 ounce dried porcini; 2 tbs butter; 1 tbs tomato sauce; 1 cup cream; 1/4 cup dry white wine; 1 tbs chopped fresh basil; 1 tsp dried sage; 1/2 tsp sugar; salt and pepper

Method: Saut? fresh mushrooms in a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes. Pour some water into a small saucepan, add the dried porcini, and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Blend the re-hydrated porcini (to reconstitute mushrooms: soak in warm water for 15-20 minutes) with a 1/2 cup of the liquid (add water if necessary) in a blender until smooth. Simmer, uncovered, the butter, tomato paste, cream, wine, basil, sage, sugar, salt, and porcini pur?e for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Now, add fresh mushrooms, or strain the sauce if necessary, and add fresh mushrooms.