As a boy, I used to go mushrooming with my old granddad and we’d return with a fishing basket full of field mushrooms – some of them huge, more than 20cm in diameter. He’d fry them up and serve them on toast; they were great days. Mushrooms and bone marrow are a marriage made in heaven. You’ll need to begin this recipe a day ahead.
Ingredients
Beurre blanc
Method
Main
1.Push out soft marrow from bones and soak in cold water overnight to draw out excess blood. Poach marrow in boiling salted water until soft (1–2 minutes depending on size), then refresh in iced water so they set hard.
2.Sauté half the mushrooms in a hot pan with half the butter, season to taste, set aside and keep warm. Repeat with remaining butter and mushrooms. In a hot dry pan, sauté marrow (no oil is required because natural fats in the marrow will be released) until lightly coloured and soft in the centre (about 1 minute). Be careful not to cook them too much as they will render to nothing quite rapidly. Place pieces of marrow on kitchen paper to drain excess fat.
3.Meanwhile, for beurre blanc, place shallot, wine and vinegar in a pan and reduce to a syrup over medium-high heat. Add cream and reduce slightly, then reduce heat to very low and whisk in diced butter, one piece at a time, until combined. Season to taste and pass mixture through a fine sieve.
4.Divide toast among 6 warmed plates. Place 4 mushrooms on each piece of toast and in the centre of each mushroom (in place of the stalk) put a piece of bone marrow. Drizzle with a little beurre blanc and garnish with chervil and a sprinkling of sea salt.
Note Bone marrow is available from select butchers but will need to be ordered ahead. Some butchers will remove the marrow for you. This recipe is from Marco Pierre White’s Great British Feast (Orion, $55, hbk). In editing this recipe for publication we have made minor changes to bring it into Gourmet Traveller style.
Notes
