Le Tour, Late but Not Lost: Stage 13, Tom Pidcock and Champignons au Comté

We are late to our own Tour de France coverage, so we are going to blame Tom Pidcock for making the race too interesting. He is only looking for a podium finish after today's fantastic breakaway!

The plan had been simple: post a few yellow stitching pictures, follow the stages, add a bit of food, and keep things moving. Instead, we watched the race, talked about the race, thought about the race, and did very little posting about the race.

So here we are: the final week, a British rider in the top ten, and the perfect excuse to do this properly.

For the rest of Le Tour, we are following the road the Meccanica way: food, craft, regional inspiration and yellow hand stitching.

Today’s stage runs from Dole to Belfort, and the food inspiration comes from @jhbfoodiecyclist and @cookwithjono, whose Champignons au Beaufort gave us exactly the right starting point: big mushrooms, herbs, breadcrumbs and mountain cheese.

Our version gives the dish a Jura twist by using Comté. It is simple, robust and very much in the spirit of the stage: not fancy, not fussy, but full of character.

Stage 13 recipe: Champignons au Comté

Ingredients

Serves 2 as a main, or 4 as a starter.

• 4 large flat mushrooms or portobello mushrooms
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• A handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 4 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
• 50–60g grated Comté
• 1 teaspoon dried sage or thyme
• Olive oil
• A small knob of butter
• Salt and black pepper
• Optional: a little parsley to finish

Method

Heat the oven to 220°C fan.

Wipe the mushrooms clean, remove the stalks and place the caps gill-side up in an ovenproof dish.

Finely chop the mushroom stalks. Warm a little olive oil and butter in a pan, then soften the shallot, garlic and chopped stalks for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook just long enough for them to slump slightly.

Stir in the breadcrumbs, herbs and most of the Comté. Season with black pepper and a little salt.

Spoon the mixture into the mushroom caps, scatter over the remaining cheese and bake until the mushrooms are tender and the top is golden.

Serve with green leaves, crusty bread, or just a glass of something cold while the race is still on.

Food, craft and yellow stitching

This is exactly the sort of thing our aprons are made for: proper cooking, a bit of mess, and no need to treat the kit too carefully.

For the duration of Le Tour, we are offering free yellow hand stitching on Meccanica belts and leather apron straps.

Handmade in England. Inspired by the roads of France.

Shop aprons: https://meccanica.cc/collections/denim-aprons
Shop belts: https://meccanica.cc/collections/belts