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Marvellous mushrooms are at their peak in autumn, says Rachel Allen ,so now’s the time to pick up your basket and go foraging for fungi.

Mushrooms are unique, as they are neither a vegetable nor a fruit (they are a fungus), and have a unique texture and an almost meaty flavour. Here, autumn is the time for most wild mushrooms; the season kicks off in August with the golden-yellow chanterelles popping up in woodlands — these are delicious fried in butter, with a little garlic and parsley, and served on toast.

There was a time when the only mushrooms we ate were of the foraged variety. Now though, the vast majority are cultivated, meaning year-round availability, and, of course safety, although the flavour of a properly wild mushroom can be hard to beat.

Like the chanterelle, the basic wild field mushroom is easy to identify, with its white cap and pale gills underneath, which range from white to pink in colour. But, when you’re foraging, it’s important to know exactly what you’re looking for. Not all mushrooms are edible, and some are deadly, with the odd hallucinogenic thrown in for good measure. The brilliant book, Mushrooms and Other Fungi of Great Britain and Ireland, by expert forager Roger Phillips, is invaluable for checking mushrooms when picking them in the wild. He also has a website, rogersmushrooms.com.

Of all the wild mushrooms, perhaps the most most revered are porcinis (the Italian name), which are known as ceps in France. They have an exquisite umami flavour. They can be found in the wild in Ireland, or you can buy them at a greengrocers. For the most part, though, we get them in their dried form. Dried porcinis are good for using all year round.

Try slicing and drying mushrooms yourself to preserve them for months. By steeping the dried mushrooms in boiling water, their flavour and essence can be revived, stronger in some ways than the fresh variety. That soaking broth also makes a wonderful addition to your pasta sauce or risotto. This mushroom tarragon tart, right, made with dried porcinis and their soaking liquid, is the perfect autumnal treat.

The large and very meaty Portobello mushrooms are farmed successfully and are great as a veggie burger, or in casseroles. Chestnut mushrooms, which are farmed, are not dissimilar to the ubiquitous white button mushrooms, but their colour is a deep golden brown and they have a more enhanced flavour. Oyster and enoki mushrooms are Japanese in origin and are cultivated in Ireland, too. These are what I’ve used for the exotic mushroom a la creme dish, pictured above right.

I love this lamb’s kidney and mushroom salad, far right, which is just perfect at this time of year and a truly lovely expression of the marvellous mushroom.

MUSHROOM TARRAGON TART

This is a very luxurious tart that’s worth every bit of the effort it takes to make it. For a real treat, try serving it with a hollandaise sauce, into which you’ve added some chopped fresh tarragon. Serves 8.

For the shortcrust pastry, you will need:

200g (7oz) plain flour, sifted 100g (3½ oz) chilled butter, cubed ½ egg, beaten

For the filling, you will need:

15g (½ oz) butter 110g (4oz) shallots, peeled and finely chopped Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 200g (7oz) button or large flat mushrooms, finely chopped 25g (1oz) dried mushrooms (such as porcini, which are also known as ceps or penny buns) 250ml (9fl oz) boiling water 2 eggs 1 egg yolk 250ml (9fl oz) cream 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

You’ll also need a loose-bottomed, 23cm (9in) diameter metal tart tin.

If you’re making the dough in a food processor, add the plain sifted flour and the chilled cubes of butter, and whizz briefly until the butter is in small lumps. Add half of the beaten egg and continue to whizz for another few seconds or until the mixture looks as though it may just come together when pressed. (Prolonged processing will toughen the pastry, so don’t whizz it up until it is a ball of dough.)

You might need to add a little more of the beaten egg, but don’t add too much — the mixture should be just moist enough to come together.

If you’re making the dough by hand, then rub the chilled cubes of butter into the sifted plain flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Then, using your hands, add just enough beaten egg to bring it together. Reserve any leftover beaten egg for later.

Using your hands, flatten out the ball of dough until it is about 1cm-2cm (½in to 1in) thick, then wrap it in cling film or put it in a plastic bag and leave it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

When you are ready to roll out the pastry, remove the pastry from the fridge, placing it between two sheets of cling film (both sheets of cling film should be larger in size than your tart tin). Using a rolling pin, roll the pastry out to no thicker than 5mm (about ¼in). Make sure to keep the pastry in a circular shape, as well as large enough to line both the base and the sides of the tin.

Remove the top layer of cling film from the pastry, and slide your hand, palm upwards, under the bottom layer of cling film, then flip the pastry over and carefully lower it into the tart tin. The cling film will now be on the top. With the cling film still attached, press the pastry into the edges of the tin, and, using your thumb, ‘cut’ the pastry along the edge of the tin for a neat finish. Remove the cling film, and prick the pastry base with a fork. Chill the pastry base in the fridge for another 30 minutes, or in the freezer for 10 minutes (it will keep in the freezer, covered, for weeks).

About 15 minutes before you’re ready to cook the pastry base, preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, Gas 4.

Remove the pastry base from the fridge and line it with parchment paper, leaving plenty to come up over the sides. Fill it with baking beans or dried pulses (all of which can be reused repeatedly), then place the pastry base in the oven and bake it ‘blind’ for 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry feels dry in the base. Remove it from the oven, and remove the baking beans and the parchment paper. Brush the base of the pastry with any leftover beaten egg, then bake it for another 3 minutes or until it is

lightly golden. Remove it from the oven and set it aside.

Next, make the filling. Melt the butter in a large frying pan on a medium heat, add the finely chopped shallots, and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover the pan with a lid and cook the shallots for 7–8 minutes or until they are soft but not browned. Add the finely chopped button mushrooms or the finely chopped large flat mushrooms, whichever you are using, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and cook the mushrooms, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes, or until they are soft and dark and any juices that have come out during cooking have evaporated.

While the fresh mushrooms are cooking, soak the dried mushrooms in the boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain them, reserving the soaking liquid, then finely chop the soaked dried mushrooms and add them to the shallots and mushrooms mixture, along with the reserved driedmushroom soaking liquid. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until the liquid has completely evaporated and the pan is dry, but not burnt! Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool for a few minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, the egg yolk, the cream and chopped fresh tarragon, then add this mixture to the shallots and mushroom mixture in the pan. Mix everything together and then pour the filling into the pre-baked tart case. Put the tart in the oven and cook it for about 30 minutes or until the filling has set in the centre. Remove the tart from the oven, and cut into slices while it is warm, or cooled to room temperature, and serve.

EXOTIC MUSHROOM A LA CRÈME

(Pictured) This is a great little vegetable accompaniment that can be reheated after being stored in the fridge for a couple of days. It can also be frozen. Toss it through hot, just-cooked pasta and serve with shavings of hard cheese for a supremely comforting pasta dish, as in the photograph, above left. Serves 4-6.

You will need:

15-25g (½oz-1oz) butter 75g (3oz) onion, finely chopped 225g (8oz) fresh (not dried) exotic mushrooms (such as oyster, nehoki, shiitake, nameko, girolles, chaterelles, chestnut), sliced Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper A squeeze of lemon juice 125ml (4½fl oz ) cream 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley ½ tablespoon chopped fresh chives Pasta, to serve (optional)

Melt 15g (½oz) of the butter in a saucepan until it foams. Add the finely chopped onion, then turn down the heat, cover the saucepan and sweat the onion on a gentle heat for 8-10 minutes, or until it is soft but not coloured. While the onion is cooking, put a frying pan on a high heat and allow it to get hot. Add the remaining butter and tip in the sliced fresh mushrooms. Season with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and a tiny squeeze of lemon juice, and saute the mushrooms, tossing them every now and again until they are completely wilted and golden. Add the sliced fresh mushrooms to the chopped onion in the saucepan, then add the cream and allow the mixture to bubble over the heat for a couple of minutes until it has slightly thickened. Taste and correct the seasoning, adding more sea salt and freshly ground black pepper if necessary, and then add the chopped fresh parsley and the chopped fresh chives.

Serve with pasta, if you are using it.

LAMB’S KIDNEY AND OYSTER MUSHROOM SALAD

Serves 4 -6.

For the dressing, you will need:

1½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil ½ tablespoon red wine vinegar 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

You will need:

2-3 lamb kidneys 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 110g (4oz) oyster mushrooms, or a mixture of mushrooms, sliced 1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram or chopped fresh tarragon About 25 pink peppercorns 4 handfuls of a selection of lettuce and rocket

First, make the dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk the extra-virgin olive oil with the red wine vinegar and the Dijon mustard, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then set the dressing aside.

Using a sharp knife or kitchen scissors, remove the skin and fatty membrane from the centre of the lamb kidneys, then cut each kidney into small 1cm-2cm (about ½in-1in) cubes.

Add 2 tablespoons of the extra-virgin olive oil to a frying pan and put it on a medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the sliced mushrooms, and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook the mushrooms, stirring them occasionally for 2-3 minutes, until they are wilted and golden. Stir in the chopped fresh marjoram or the chopped fresh tarragon, whichever you’re using, then remove the mixture to a plate and set it aside.

Add the remaining tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil to the pan and when it is hot, add the cubed kidneys. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then cook the kidneys, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 minutes until they are golden brown on the outside but still slightly pink in the centre. Tip in the pink peppercorns for the last few seconds of cooking, then add the cooked kidneys and pink peppercorns to the mushroom and herb mixture you set aside earlier.

Next, toss the lettuce and rocket leaves in the dressing you set aside earlier, using enough of it just to lightly coat the leaves. Divide the dressed leaves between plates, spoon over the mushrooms, pink peppercorns and kidney mixture and serve.