Devilled Mushrooms

OK, so I've been in a bit of a rut lately, relying on frozen food perhaps a bit too much. I'm keen to try out a few recipes from a certain TV show (the merest mention of which has already bumped my monthly pageviews up considerably, but I'm not one to cash in by gratuitously mentioning it again) but even the quickest and simplest of those recipes seem like a bit too much effort when it's just for me.

Except the Caramel Chocolate Lava Cake.

Hey, they don't call me 'Two-Puds' for nothing.

But this isn't about French-style foods, more yer classic English snack. Typically, there are many different interpretations of this recipe. Some feature tomato purée, some don't. Some use lemon juice, some don't. Some even feature my bête noire, cream (double, sour and fraîche varieties, depending where you look), so there are no shortage of options to fit your palette. There's even a variety of opinions on what type of mushrooms to use - some recommend the larger, flatter kind, some say that the more usual smaller, rounded kind are fine. Not only do I not have a preference, I don't consider myself 'foodie' enough to make a recommendation. Hell, I picked up a bag of ready-sliced mushrooms, just to save myself some time.

Ingredients:

• 250g Sliced Mushrooms
• 1 Tablespoon Wholegrain Mustard
• 1 Tablespoon Tomato Purée
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• Garlic (1 crushed clove)
• Salt & Pepper
• Paprika

Preparation Time: about 15-20 minutes

Tools Required:

• Tablespoon (both for measuring and mixing!)
• Medium Bowl
• Baking Tray
• Foil

The Process:
Preheat your oven to 180C (200C if not fan-assisted). Mix together the mustard, tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic in the bowl, then add salt and pepper to taste. Add the mushrooms in small portions to ensure good coverage with the mixture. For a stronger flavour, leave to marinade for about an hour, otherwise cover your baking tray with foil and decant the contents of the bowl onto the tray. Sprinkle over some paprika, then put the mushrooms into the oven for about ten minutes and serve on toast, or with a leafy salad... or both.

Y'know, whatever tickles your fancy.

The Results:
As quick snack lunches go, this is a nice, light, piquant dish. I probably went a bit heavy on the tomato purée, but I used all that was left in a tube - too much for this, but not enough to be worth keeping what was left if I didn't use all of it. As far as the possibility of adding cream goes, I cannot understand why one would want to use any kind... But I guess some folks really like their cream.

Effort in presentation? Moi?