Mushrooms sometimes get a bad wrap for not being flavourful, or for the texture being ‘off’. But the truth is when cooked with care mushrooms can be delicious! It also matters what type of mushrooms you use and how you cook them. 

There are some perfect pairings that will enhance the natural flavours of mushrooms. So no matter if it is a homemade cream of mushroom soup recipe, mushrooms on toast, or you’re making a mushroom pate - here are the herbs that will level up your mushrooms! 

Rosemary 

Mushroosm have a strong earthy flavour, and rosemary is a strong flavour that really enhances that. You don’t need to use a lot, but don’t worry about overwhelming your mushrooms - cause they can take it. 

Rosemary butter with a little bit of garlic is perfect with almost all button type mushrooms. 

Basil 

Basil might not seem like the best choice for mushrooms - but they are the bread and butter of many delicious Italian dishes. Basil can lighten the deep flavours of larger mushrooms, and with a squeeze of lemon the dish will be rich and fresh tasting. 

Tarragon

There are a couple of protein and mushroom pairings that work really well together. Chicken and mushroom and steak and mushrooms are matches made in heaven. Tarragon has a mildly licorice flavour, which works with either of two meats, cream and mushrooms. 

You can create a completely divine sauce with just mushrooms, tarragon and cream. 

Sage

Sage has a really interesting flavour profile - slightly musky, slightly minty and quite strong! But, it works perfectly with almost all mushrooms. Instead of chopping it up and sprinkle it in. Gently fry the sage leaves, and use them as an extra texture on the plate with mushrooms. 

If you want to have meat with your sage and mushrooms - pork would be the best option in this combination. 

Marjoram

Marjoram is an underused herb, but offers a more subtle and sweet flavour than punch oregano - even though they are from the same family of herbs. Oregano has a subtle spice in it that marjoram doesn’t have either. What that means is that it works great for mushrooms that don’t have the strong flavour, or when tossed in butter and a pinch of salt for an easy toast topping. 

Caraway Seeds

Caraway seeds look very similar to cumin seeds, but have a very different flavour profile. If you like licorice then caraway seeds are perfect for you. They have a stronger licorice taste than tarragon, and some pungent citrus notes too. You won’t need to add much though, and it is better that you toast these before you add the mushrooms so that they have their full effect. 

Parsley

Make a parsley butter while you cook your mushrooms, and then toss the mushrooms in the butter. They are very fresh - and although often they are thought of more like a garnish. 

We can always try to get a little more fruit and vegetables into our diets and our kids, aside from making incredible mushrooms sauces, here are some other tips: 5 TIPS FOR ADDING FRUITS AND VEGETABLES TO A CHILD’S PACKED LUNCH.