Mushrooms, garlic and bread – is a classic combination that I felt the need to revamp! Usually, the warm, comforting garlic infused mushrooms with melted oozing cheese is what really touches the soul on cool nights, stressful days and even the odd hangover breakfast. But this time, I wanted to shake things up.
The past few months, I’ve been working on a project that involves Piri Piri seasoning – a blend I normally don’t reach out to. My interaction was limited to the McDonald’s fries, which, honestly, just leaves me with burning lips. But with this project, I’ve been experimenting and spending a lot of time with it. So, an authentic Piri Piri seasoning bottle sat on my kitchen counter, staring at me, daring me, ‘go ahead, use me for your personal meal’. I thought, why not – right at the moment I decided to make a mushroom toast to eat in bed – and added a hefty spoonful into the mushrooms.
To contrast the softer mushrooms – I wanted some crunch factor – so I made the extra effort to fry some sliced garlic to garnish (and I felt pretty proud of myself)! After everything was ready, I became doubtful of the spice factor and found a tub of mascarpone to smear on the bread slices. Not only did this hold the mushrooms nicely, but also mellowed out the heaping spoon of piri piri.
You can easily substitute the mascarpone with cream cheese, hung curd, ricotta or even mayonnaise. If you don’t have piri piri, go for any smokey spice blend, or smoked paprika with red chilli flakes.
Side note: this pairs beautifully with a glass of white wine!