A heavenly combination of two very earthy ingredients that’s a perfect accompaniment to roast meats, game, poultry, ham, cod, salmon – or anything needing a robust, mushroom-flavored side dish. You could add crispy smoked bacon or prosciutto to it and the result would be wonderful but the original recipe here is vegetarian.

Porcini powder sounds a bit hard to come by but in fact isn’t because you make it yourself. Most good supermarkets these days sell little packets of dried mushrooms and porcini are some of the very best with their deep, earthy, almost meaty aroma. To make the powder, just blitz the dried mushrooms in a clean spice or coffee grinder – it only takes a few seconds.

Porcini powder also makes a wonderful addition to gravies, soups, or anything where you want a hint of ‘shroom. On that basis, you might want to make more than this recipe calls for; just store it in a screw-top glass jar and it will last for ages.

Roast Potatoes & Mushrooms with Porcini

ROAST POTATOES with MUSHROOMS

(Serves 6 as a side dish)

Ingredients:

Non-stick vegetable cooking spray

2 and a 1/2 lbs (1.15k) of baby red-skinned potatoes, washed, left unpeeled and cut into about 6 wedges each, making sure the wedges are roughly the same size

2 tablespoons of chopped fresh rosemary

5 tablespoons of oil such as avocado or grape seed oil (never use extra-v olive oil for cooking at high temps)

1 lb (0.5k) of small brown mushrooms (chestnut, crimini/baby portabellas) wiped clean, halved or quartered so they’re all the same size

1/2 oz (14g) of dried porcini mushrooms – ground to a powder (see above)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 heaped tablespoons of Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped

Action:

Pre-heat the oven to 425F (220C).

Spray a large shallow roasting/baking tray with cooking oil.  Toss the potato wedges with the rosemary in 2 tablespoons of the oil and arrange them in a single layer in the roasting tray.

Roast for 45 minutes, tossing around every 15 minutes or so, until they’re browned and tender. Remove from the oven and set aside (potatoes can be made up to 2 hrs ahead ).

Heat 2 more tablespoons of the oil in a large sauté pan over a medium-high heat and sauté the mushrooms until they’re tender and browned (mushrooms can also be made up to 2 hrs ahead).

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the skillet with the mushrooms then add the potatoes. Sauté over a medium-high heat until the potatoes are crisped and everything is heated through. Season everything to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Finally, sprinkle the porcini powder over everything and toss well to coat everything.

Transfer to a warmed serving bowl and scatter with chopped parsley to serve.