November ish
Starter: hogweed seed (taste spiced, like cardamom, clove or pepper)
Main: parasol mushroom with ground ivy, marjoram beech nuts and shredded ribwort plantain leaf
Parasols, shaggy parasols and shaggy ink caps, deceivers, or really any wild mushroom are so much richer in meaty umami flavour than cultivated white or chestnut field mushrooms. They say what grows together goes together, so take a look to see which herbs are near the mushrooms for a woodland sautée. I find oregano, marjoram, sage, ground ivy, ground elder and others nearby. Better still, the leaves and the pointed spike flowers of the ribwort or greater plantains actually taste a lot like mushrooms- a good replacement, for a soup, even- so adding these, raw or cooked, will build on the flavour. For something like a nut roast, with a little more bit or texture, keep an eye out for mushrooms fruiting alongside sweet chestnuts or beech nuts, even in small quantities.