Big brown mushrooms, stuffed and cooked on the braai

Potatoes wrapped in foil and shoved into the coals are one of the regular braaier’s favourite treats. Then, slathered with butter and well salted, they’re devoured with relish. This has been part of my braai life since I was a boy in Oranjemund.

I braai other things in foil, too. Whole onions turn out sweet and sensuously soft. Butternut can be cooked whole or halved, depending on their size. Heavy foil is best for any of these vegetables, and they can all be put directly on to the coals or even covered with them.

Another favourite, later in the year, is a whole marrow. For that I must wait. The seeds only went into the ground last Thursday, so the shoots will start showing next week. By year’s end there will be courgettes in abundance, but I always leave some of them to grow and grow. When they get really big, I harvest one, cut it in half into two “boats”, fill each with cooked spinach and feta, wrap them in plenty of heavy foil and into the coals they go.

In the meantime, there are other options while those seeds sprout and turn into future suppers. Like mushrooms. Little button mushrooms are okay for foil too, as long as they are tightly wrapped. But big brown mushrooms are ideal. Better still, they can be stuffed. Try, if you can, to remember which side of the foil is on top so that it can be kept with the undersides of the mushrooms on the coals, but as long as the foil parcel is secure enough, it’s likely to hold together. 

The mushrooms need to be seasoned before adding any filling, and as well as feta (the perfect filling for a braaied mushroom in my opinion), it benefits from a herb and perhaps a condiment such as Worcestershire sauce, soy, and/or something citrusy.

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