Life, said the author Shirley Conran, is too short to stuff a mushroom.
She was very wrong (breadcrumbs, garlic, thyme, butter - go!) but let's go with that for a second and consider some other ways to have fun with funghi.
James Wong is a Kew Gardens-trained botanist who hasliterally just written the book on getting more from your fruit and veg (How to Eat Better, Hachette New Zealand, $40).
He's big on vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients - the chemicals produced by plants that have health effects on humans.
To up the vitamin D2 quotient of your common button mushroom put them on a sunny windowsill for an hour and levels will increase 100-fold, claims Wong. Fight inflammation with shiitake and eat portobellos for a decent dose of chitin (an immune-boosting complex carb). Wong cites one trial where participants ate large quantities of "plain old white button mushrooms" daily showed a 50 per cent increase in Type A antibodies.
Life is too short to stuff mushrooms. But it could be shorter if you don't.
(Want phytonutrients fast? Soak a dozen dried shiitake in hot water. Strain that 'shroom-infused water in a pot with ginger, garlic, a splash of soy sauce, chilli and the chopped, rehydrated shiitake - minus any woody stems. Keep adjusting flavours until desirable levels of brothy-goodness are achieved. Optional: thinly sliced whatever-vege from the bottom of your fridge and a handful of cooked noodles).
