Mushroom Bruschetta

Ingredients:
extra virgin olive oil
11 ounces mixed wild mushrooms, wiped clean
2 cloves of garlic, 1 peeled and finely chopped, the other halved
A few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
A few sprigs of fresh parsley, leaves picked
A sprig of summer savory, leaves plucked (optional)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 dried red chili, crumbled
A small knob of butter
1 lemon
2 slices of sourdough bread

Preparing the bruschetta:
Put a large heavy saute pan (large enough to hold the mushrooms in one layer) over and add a couple of glugs of extra virgin olive oil. Depending on the size of your mushrooms, leave any small ones whole but tear, break or slice the larger ones up. Add them all to the pan and give it a shake to toss the mushrooms in the oil.

Add the chopped garlic and fresh herbs and shake the pan again. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and the crumbled chili and leave to fry gently for a few minutes. If the mixture becomes dry, pour in a little more oil.

Once the mushrooms have got some color going on, after about 3 to 4 minutes, add the butter and a squeeze of lemon juice to give a nice twang -- don't go overboard here, you don't need much -- and toss again.

To finish this off and make it into a lovely, creamy sauce, spoon 2-3 tablespoons of water into the pan. Simmer for a little longer, until you have a sauce that just loosely coats the mushrooms.

Toast the bread, then rub with the cut side of the remaining clove of garlic. Spoon the mushrooms and the juices from the pan on top.

Serves 2