Mushroom-stuffed croissants

When I was finishing off my undergraduate degree, revising for exams, I got into a routine of actually getting to the library around 8.30 in the morning. In case it needs saying, getting up that early is not normal for me. For the first (and, since then, only) time, I really felt I needed breakfast. Breakfast is normally a luxury for me, to be enjoyed on weekends, days off, holidays. Most days I can't face the prospect of fitting a meal in between waking and leaving the house.

I had two options at the tube stop near my house, both of which could easily be eaten on the journey to the library. Number one was a sausage bagel (toasted sesame, no butter, brown sauce), and number two was a mushroom- and cheese-stuffed croissant from Delice de France. I'm pretty sure these wonders no longer exist, so I've been thinking about reproducing them for a while.

The conjunction of a stash of sourdough croissants in my freezer and the start of chanterelle season pushed me over the edge. I used chanterelles because Ocado offered me a bunch with 40% off the price, but you could very easily do this with normal button/chestnut/whatever you have. My sourdough croissants were pretty huge, so you might find this mixture will fill two more normal versions.


Mushroom-stuffed croissant

1 large, or 2 smaller, croissants
80g mushrooms
Generous slice of butter (around 15g, I guess?)
3 tbs single cream
20g grated parmesan

Heat the oven to 200 degrees celcius.

Trim the mushrooms, and slice thinly if you're using normal ones. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, over a high heat; add the mushrooms and fry vigorously for a couple of minutes, until the juices have been extracted and the mushrooms have wilted.

Glug in the cream, stir briefly, and turn off the heat. Tip in the grated cheese and stir until melted.

Slice your croissant(s) on their thick side, making sure not to cut all the way through - i.e. leaving a hinge. Open the croissant up, and gently pull out some of its soft insides.

Stuff the mushroom mixture into the space left, squish the croissant back together, and wrap in foil. Pop into the oven for 15 minutes to warm through the rest of the croissant, and allow the flavour to infuse the whole.

Unwrap and munch. This may require a knife and fork.