Is there anything more delicious than wild mushrooms? They are the perfect way to jazz up your Christmas meal & give a rich, savoury flavour that even your most carnivorous of friends will be coming back for more!

Recipe serves 6.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 300g wild mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1 punnet of chestnut mushrooms, chopped into small chunks
• 2 tbsp fresh thyme
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 300g stale sourdough, cut into small squares
• 50g chopped hazelnuts
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt & black pepper for seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tbsp sunflower spread
• 1 tbsp porcini mushroom paste (can find in most large supermarkets)

Method: 

1. Preheat the oven to 200c and place sourdough chunks on a baking tray, bake for 10 minutes until brown & crispy. Remove from the oven & set aside. 
2. In a large frying pan, add the olive oil, red onion, garlic and salt/pepper. Cook for several minutes on a medium heat until the onion has softened. Add the wild & chestnut mushrooms and sunflower spread. Cook for a further 6-8 minutes until softened & add the porcini paste & dried thyme. 
3. Remove from the heat, add 3 tbsp water and sourdough chunks. 
4. Please into a large baking dish and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown & crispy. Decorate with fresh thyme and serve. 

Did you know that mushrooms are fantastic for our immune systems! They contain polysaccharides called beta-glucans which help to stimulate our immune system, helping us to fight off nasty bugs during the winter months!