Fly agaric ( amanita muscaria), the miller ( Clitopilus prunulus) and peppery boletes ( Chalciporus piperatus) are often clues to good hunting -grounds, especially under spruce trees. I find the relationship between ceps, spruce trees, the miller and the peppery bolete to be so reliable that I believe (though i’ve seen no scientific research to prove this) that the relationship is more than just shared habitat, but a complex interdependency. It has been known for some years that peppery boletes are parasitic on fly agaric mycelia, but I suspect there is more at play here. Who knows what complex battles, alliances and trades are going on beneath our feet!? Known as cèpes in France and porcini in Italy, these creamy yellow mushrooms have a good flavour and a velvet-like texture. They are quite meaty and have a spongy underside, rather than gills. Available all year. To prepare: To rehydrate, soak in warm water for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then drain using a sieve, reserve the soaking liquor for use in recipes too. Dried shiitake

To prepare: Wipe the mushrooms with a kitchen towel and trim the end of the stems. Cook them whole or cut or tear into lengthways strips. Begin by allowing the pastry to come to room temperature, then carefully unroll the sheet of pastry and roll it out on a well-floured surface to 14 x 14 inches (35.5 cm x 35.5 cm). Porcini mushrooms have such a beautiful earthy, somewhat nutty flavor reminiscent of forest ground, colorful leaves and damp autumn air. Every season we stroll around the woods looking for these beauties. My dad has a radar for them, I swear it’s almost as if he can smell them miles away. He is a natural talent for detecting porcini mushrooms (smile) and even has a special secret place (well, not so secret any more) up in the woods among pine trees, where a different type of porcini grow, with distinct flavor and darker color.

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Finding a large porcini is an amazing feeling. A friend found one this year that was over two feet tall! Unfortunately, there is one big issue with larger porcini mushrooms, and that is fly larvae. Tiny ones that riddle your mushroom with holes. Slice the mushroom, and you might not see them at first, but if you see holes, you will definitely have tiny worms inside. Don’t throw the mushroom out, though! If the damage is small, you can cut out those sections or even salvage areas that do have worms. You can do two things to rid your porcini of worms and make it clean for eating and drying. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based pan. Slowly fry the bacon lardons over a low heat until golden brown but not too crispy. Add the onion, celery, carrots, garlic and fennelseeds. Add a good pinch of salt. Slowly fry this soffrito in the oil for at least 30 minutes, stirring from time to time, until sweet and very soft.

Line a ceramic dish at least 40cm long with clingfilm, letting it overhang the sides, and place the salmon fillet skin-side down inside the dish. Spoon the spice cure evenly over the salmon, making sure the whole fillet is covered. Wrap the clingfilm tightly around the fillet so the mixture stays in place. Refrigerate for 3 days to cure. The most common type of mushroom, these are readily available. They have creamy white caps with pink gills which darken to beige as they grow. Available all year.Put the sliced potatoes under running water, swirling them around every so often to remove the starch and then pat dry using a clean tea towel. To prepare: Cultivated mushrooms are usually very clean: just wipe with a kitchen towel or rinse briefly and dry before use. Do not peel. Leave the mushrooms whole or slice as necessary. Ceps, dried or fresh, will lift any mushroom dish to a new level. Even a small amount added to other mushrooms can make quite a difference. Here are some of my favourite recipes – but be sure to try them raw in the forest first!

Next, make the filling. Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the butter and half the oil. When the fat is bubbling away, add both the soaked and fresh mushrooms, along with the parsley and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Toss the mushrooms around the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, until softened. To store: Place in a paper bag in the salad drawer of the refrigerator and use by the best before date.To prepare: Rinse thoroughly under cold running water and dry before use. Do not peel. Leave the mushrooms whole or slice as necessary. If baking and stuffing remove the stalk before stuffing. It’s true that that misidentification is a rather surprising mistake, but I think the fact it did happen, and the consequences – if it is true one of the party only ate a few mouthfuls and nevertheless required a kidney transplant within a few years – is quite enough to explain why many of us who quite happily eat wild fruit are extremely scared of eating wild mushrooms! For the citrus cream, mix the yogurt with lemon zest and juice, thyme and dill, and season to taste with salt and pepper. To cook: Sauté in a little butter to release the juices, then turn the heat up to concentrate the flavour. ChestnutFly agaric, peppery bolete and the miller – all good signs that there may ceps about under pine and spruce Uses: Add cooked exotic mushrooms to omelettes, pasta sauces or serve simply with brown bread and butter. These are large mushrooms with a meaty texture and a wonderful aroma, they can be up to 10cm in diameter. Available all year. Gradually add the sifted flour and use a firm spatula to incorporate it thoroughly. You will need to work this dough in the pot so that it forms a firm consistency. This will take some minutes as you need to make sure all the moisture is cooked out of the dough. To cook: Grill or fry sliced gigantes in a little butter for 5-10 minutes. To bake, top with butter and place in an ovenproof dish with 4 tbsp cold water, cook in a preheated oven at 190(C, gas mark 5 for 45 minutes or until tender. Oyster

Named after the enoki tree that it grows on, the wild variety has a tiny yellow-orange cap with a long, slender stem, the more common cultivated variety are a creamy colour. They have a sweet, fruity flavour with a slight crunch and are native to Japan where they are widely used. Available all year. First, make the shortcrust pastry. Pulse the flour, butter and salt in a food processor to the consistency of breadcrumbs. With the motor running, steadily add the water, stopping as soon as the dough comes together. Remove the dough, knead it a couple of times, then wrap it in clingfilm and chill it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Take a tablespoon of the mixture and drop it on to a tray. Repeat with the rest of the mix, leaving a couple of centimetres between each bhaji. Four victims of the bolete-eater fungus and one good-looking cep for drying (as it still has plenty of fungal gnat larvae in it)

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A delicious combination of cep, chanterelle and fairy ring mushrooms which can be used in a range of recipes. Uses: Portabellini mushrooms can be sliced and eaten raw in salads or lightly cooked and included in soups, pasta dishes, casseroles or sauces. They can also be stuffed and baked.