Dried mushrooms add richness. We’ve used black trumpets, a French mushroom known for its sweet, rich flavour, but dried porcini or shiitake would also work well.
4 Heads of garlic
Olive oil
15g Dried black trumpet mushrooms (or use dried porcini or shiitake)
1 Loaf Wild Wheat white sourdough, ideally a few days old
2 Tbsp Thyme leaves
1/2 Cup parsley leaves, chopped
Cut the top off the garlic heads and cook in boiling, salted water for 10 minutes. Drain well and remove any loose skins. Put into a small pot so the garlic heads fit snuggly. Cover with olive oil, (approx 1
-2 cups) and simmer gently over a very low heat until tender, around 30 min. Cool before using and reserve the olive oil. This can be done a few days ahead, keep refrigerated
Squeeze out the remaining garlic cloves from the skins and roughly mash
Pour 1 cup boiling water over the mushrooms and set aside for 20 minutes to soften, drain and reserve the liquid and roughly chop mushrooms
Remove and discard crusts from sourdough and cut loaf into 3cm cubes. In a frying pan, add some of the reserved garlic olive oil to the pan and, in batches, brown the sourdough cubes lightly, then put into a bowl with the mashed garlic
Heat more of the garlic oil, add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, add the mushroom liquid and reduce down until cup of liquid is left. Cool and mix through the bread, adding a little extra oil, if necessary, to coat the mix well. Mix through the thyme and parsley and season generously. Set aside until ready to use (this can be done a day ahead)