Wild mushroom and garlic ‘tumbleweeds’

Looking just like little tumbleweeds, top chef Nigel Haworth’s deep-fried mushroom canapés make a perfect snack or elegant party nibble, and are a great way to show off organic vegetables and wild mushrooms. If you can’t find kataifi pastry for the coating, you can use shredded filo pastry instead.

Ingredients (makes 10)

For the tumbleweeds:

450g of mixed organic wild mushrooms, washed and chopped

200g of organic shallots, finely diced

80g of organic wild garlic, shredded, or chopped garlic chives

60g of organic cream cheese

1 bulb of organic garlic

Organic flour, for dusting

2 organic eggs, beaten

Organic kataifi pastry, 1 box

Salt

Organic lemon juice

For the sage dip:

200g of organic mayonnaise

1tsp chopped organic sage

1tbsp of organic lemon juice

100g of organic crème fraîche

Salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 3.

Coat the garlic bulb in a generous drizzle of oil and wrap it tightly in foil. Place the foil parcel on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 40 minutes, until the garlic has completely softened.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little before opening the bulb and removing each individual garlic clove from its skin. Pass the roasted garlic cloves through a fine sieve to form a paste.

In a hot pan add a small amount of oil, add the shallots and mushroom, cover tightly with cling film and sweat for five minutes until soft. Keep shaking the pan during this time.

Once cooked, remove from the heat and place the mushrooms in a colander. Drain for five to ten minutes to remove any excess liquid.

Place the mushrooms in a bowl and add the cream cheese, 50g of the roast garlic (reserving the rest for the dip) and shredded wild garlic. Season to taste with lemon juice and salt.

Form the mixture into 8g balls and dredge through flour and egg before wrapping in the kataifi pastry. Leave to set in the fridge for 30 minutes before cooking.

Meanwhile, make the sage dip by mixing together the mayonnaise, chopped sage, lemon juice and crème fraîche with 10g of the reserved roasted garlic. Season to taste with salt and reserve in the fridge until ready to serve.

Preheat the deep-fryer to 180°C.

Deep fry the balls for two to three minutes until golden brown and crispy. Drain any excess oil on kitchen towel, then serve with the sage dip on the side.

Recipe by Nigel Haworth for The Organic Trade Board’s ‘Organic. Naturally Different’ campaign, courtesy of www.greatbritishchefs.com