Mushroom Tart
For two

250g mushrooms
wiped 50g butter, softened but not melted
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 tbsps chopped parsley
175g puff pastry

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F (gas mark 7). Cut the mushrooms into bite-sized pieces, quarters for the small to medium cup variety, chunks for the big flat field mushrooms. Mix the butter with the garlic. Fry the mushrooms in a shallow pan with half the butter, adding a little more butter or olive oil if they have soaked it all up. Stir in the parsley.

On a lightly floured surface roll the pastry into a rectangle approximately 20x13cm. Lift carefully on to a baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, score a smaller rectangle 4cm from the edge, cutting only halfway through the layer of pastry. Scoop the mushrooms from the pan and place them on the innermost rectangle, trying not to let them hang over the outer rim. Place in the hot oven and bake for 15 minutes till the pastry is risen. Dot with the remaining butter then close the door for another 5-7 minutes till the pastry is golden and the mushroom sizzling. Serve straight from the oven, before the pastry has time to go soggy.

Puff pastry keeps in the freezer compartment of the fridge for weeks, and takes about an hour to thaw. Most of it is pretty good, particularly if somewhere along the line you can add a bit of butter, which will give it a better flavour. The garlic butter in which the mushrooms are cooked will help the flavour of the pastry enormously. Chilled fresh puff pastry is good too.

Mushroom Beignets
Antonio Carluccio's delicious little Wild Mushroom Beignets are for those lucky enough to know where to gather chanterelles, boletuses and horns of plenty. For those who make this recipe a good way is to use a mixed bag.
For four
4 eggs
200g flour
150ml milk
salt
freshly ground black pepper
800g mixed wild mushrooms, cut into strips
1 small onion, very finely chopped
plenty of groundnut or sunflower oil for frying

Beat the eggs in a bowl, then stir in the flour and the milk, followed by salt and pepper to taste, to form a thick batter. Now add the mushrooms and onion and mix together. Pour about 1 cm of oil into a frying pan and bring to frying temperature. Carefully add the mixture, a tablespoon at a time. Fry the beignets gently until brown and crispy on one side, turn, and cook the other side. Serve hot.

Funghi Ripieni
For four
12 large mushrooms, wiped
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
olive oil
3 anchovy fillets, drained and chopped
1 tbsp chopped green olives
2 tbsps chopped fresh parsley
salt
freshly ground black pepper
6 tbsps soft fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg beaten

Remove the mushroom stalks and chop. Cook the onion and garlic in two tablespoons of olive oil until the onion softens, then add the chopped mushroom stalks. Cook over a gentle heat for five minutes, and then add the chopped anchovies and the olives. Cook for two minutes more and stir in the parsley. Season to taste. Mix with half the breadcrumbs and bind the mixture with the beaten egg.

Fill the mushrooms with the anchovy and olive stuffing and place them in a lightly oiled ovenproof dish. Scatter over the rest of the breadcrumbs and a little olive oil, cover with foil and bake in a preheated oven, 200C/400F (gas mark 6) for 10-15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further five minutes to crisp the stuffing.

Mushroom Crostini
For three
50g butter
1 clove of garlic, lightly crushed
450g mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsps chopped fresh parsley
salt
freshly ground black pepper
12 slices of French bread, 5mm thick

Melt the butter in a small pan. Add the crushed garlic and cook gently until the butter smells sweet and garlicky. Remove garlic clove before it turns brown and bitter, turn up the heat and add the mushrooms.

Cook for four or five minutes, stirring occasionally if the mushrooms stick to the pan, until they soften and soak up the garlic butter. Stir in the parsley and add a little salt and two or three twists from the peppermill. While the mushrooms are cooking, toast the slices of bread. Spoon the mushrooms over the toasted bread and eat while hot.

Mushroom Rolls
For two
4 rolls, white or brown
50g butter
1 small onion, chopped
275g mushrooms, sliced
250ml double cream
a good squeeze of lemon juice
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Slice the tops from each of the rolls with a bread knife and hollow out half the bread. Melt the butter in a small pan and brush a little of it inside the rolls and on the cut side of the lids. Put them in a preheated oven, 200C/400F (gas mark 6), for about 7-10 minutes until crisp.

Meanwhile, fry the onion in the rest of the butter in the pan for about five minutes until soft, then add the mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes, until they start to soften. Pour in the cream and allow to bubble for a couple of minutes; the mixture will start to thicken. Season with the lemon juice and the salt and pepper. Remove the rolls from the oven and spoon in the creamed mushroom filling. Cover with the lids and serve absolutely immediately.

The Wine List
Tim Atkin
With the mushroom tart
1999 L'Avenir Chardonnay (£7.99, Wine Rack, Bottoms Up) A fresh, elegant Chardonnay from one of the Cape's best producers. Crisp acidity and understated oak are the hallmarks of this balletic wine. Stylish stuff.

With the mushroom beignets
2000 Safeway Alsace Gewürztraminer (£5.99) Some Gewürztraminers are so heavy you can barely lift them off the table. This one has the classic lychee and rose-petal aromas but is comparatively light and refreshing on the palate.

With the funghi ripieni
2000 Gaia Notios White (£4.99, Oddbins) A classically Mediterranean, unoaked white with a face-slap of acidity and notes of white pepper and fresh herbs. Greek wines have moved on from Retsina.

With the mushroom rolls
2000 Kiwi Cuvée Sauvignon Blanc (£4.99, Tesco; Oddbins; Budgens; Somerfield) Worth drinking for the controversy it has caused in France alone, this is a grassy, zesty Sancerre tastealike made in the Loire Valley by a New Zealander.

With the mushroom crostini
Sainsbury's Red Burgundy (£5.49) I reckon you could get away with a light red here. The JS red Burgundy is juicy and soft with no obvious oak and flavours of cherries and raspberries.