What recipes should I use for 1/2lb of chanterelles?
December 13, 2014 5:50 AM Subscribe
We have a 1/2lb of chanterelles! What recipes should we consider? Caveat: we don't eat flour, rice, starches or sugar.
Sauteed, in really good butter, with toast.
posted by larthegreat at 6:36 AM on December 13, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by larthegreat at 6:36 AM on December 13, 2014 [3 favorites]
Yeah I eat the same way you do and I love wild mushrooms sautéed until slightly crispy in butter, salt and pepper. Sometimes I top it with a fried egg with the yolk still runny which makes a great contrast.
posted by peacheater at 6:58 AM on December 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by peacheater at 6:58 AM on December 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
If you have more than you'll use in a week or so, they can easily be dehydrated with alton browns "box fan and two cellulose filters" dehydrator method. It's a cheap way to store some high quality goodness. If you do end up dehydrating ten, I would use them for flavoring sauces and other "wet" applications where you can infuse their flavor into the dish, but discard the actual mushies. After dehydration, they don't really reconstitute their texture well.
They make a fantastic stock, an we use them regularly for a non traditional dashi.
posted by furnace.heart at 7:06 AM on December 13, 2014
They make a fantastic stock, an we use them regularly for a non traditional dashi.
posted by furnace.heart at 7:06 AM on December 13, 2014
Yum! Sauteed and with white wine they are also nice topping a fish filet.
posted by BibiRose at 7:08 AM on December 13, 2014
posted by BibiRose at 7:08 AM on December 13, 2014
Wild About Mushrooms: The Cookbook of the Mycological Society of San Francisco (§ chanterelles) (available in print but the online edition on their web site is free)
posted by XMLicious at 7:28 AM on December 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by XMLicious at 7:28 AM on December 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
You slice them up in not too tiny chunks. Slowly heat up some (sorry. At least two tablespoons, better three) butter in a skillet. Add a few pressed and peeled cloves of garlic. Let sizzle on low until golden. Add chanterelles. Depending on their humidity level they'll sauté right away, or start to bubble. Depending on which, add salt and pepper after 30 seconds or (if watery) after most of the liquid has boiled off. Cook a little longer, stirring. Now add a healthy dose of double cream, and reduce the sauce until nice and thick. Check for salt and serve.
posted by Namlit at 8:38 AM on December 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Namlit at 8:38 AM on December 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
Gasp - you lucky duck!! Just saute them with either olive oil and salt or a little butter. Amazing!
posted by Toddles at 8:43 AM on December 13, 2014
posted by Toddles at 8:43 AM on December 13, 2014
Just make this with 1/2 ingredient proportions.
Wild Mushrooms with Tomatoes and Basil
Ingredients:
2 large shallots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1 pound chanterelles
1/4 cup dry white wine or no-salt-added vegetable broth
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes or 1 (15 ounce) can no or low salt chopped tomatoes
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons slivered fresh basil
Instructions:
Heat 2 tablespoons water over medium-low heat in a large skillet, add shallots and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Add half the garlic, stir for 1 minute, then add the mushrooms. Turn heat up to medium-high, and cook the mushrooms, stirring, about 7 minutes or until they soften and lose their juices.
Add the wine and rosemary and cook, stirring until the liquid boils down and glazes the mushrooms, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, remaining garlic and cook for an additional 10 minutes to reduce tomatoes and blend flavors. Stir in black pepper and basil. Serve warm.
posted by bearwife at 8:59 AM on December 13, 2014
Wild Mushrooms with Tomatoes and Basil
Ingredients:
2 large shallots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1 pound chanterelles
1/4 cup dry white wine or no-salt-added vegetable broth
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes or 1 (15 ounce) can no or low salt chopped tomatoes
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons slivered fresh basil
Instructions:
Heat 2 tablespoons water over medium-low heat in a large skillet, add shallots and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Add half the garlic, stir for 1 minute, then add the mushrooms. Turn heat up to medium-high, and cook the mushrooms, stirring, about 7 minutes or until they soften and lose their juices.
Add the wine and rosemary and cook, stirring until the liquid boils down and glazes the mushrooms, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, remaining garlic and cook for an additional 10 minutes to reduce tomatoes and blend flavors. Stir in black pepper and basil. Serve warm.
posted by bearwife at 8:59 AM on December 13, 2014
I've made Polish mushroom soup without the cornstarch and it has always really gone over well - the recipe is simple enough that you can develop your own take on it without compromising the dish overall.
I've tried it with chanterelles a couple of times and like a chicken stock better than the beef - the flavor of the shrooms comes across cleaner.
posted by Tchad at 9:03 AM on December 13, 2014
I've tried it with chanterelles a couple of times and like a chicken stock better than the beef - the flavor of the shrooms comes across cleaner.
posted by Tchad at 9:03 AM on December 13, 2014
seconding the sautéed on a steak proposal. Instead of steak, it could also be a fish.
posted by mumimor at 10:09 AM on December 13, 2014
posted by mumimor at 10:09 AM on December 13, 2014
Dry sautée them first to get the moisture out. Once they release their water, add a healthy knob of butter, and some onion, salt a little, and sautée until onions are the way you like em. Near the end of cooking, sprinkle some fresh dill over the top. Serve alongside risotto, steak or your favorite sausage.
posted by amanda at 11:58 AM on December 13, 2014
posted by amanda at 11:58 AM on December 13, 2014
amanda is right about the dry sautée -- it is hands-down the best method for chanterelles. One of chanterelles' perks is that they have a long life before they're picked; they don't slime out and decompose as quickly as other mushrooms do. This means they end up hanging on to a lot of moisture. The dry sautée will get that moisture out.
I'm kind of a purist about this, to be honest. Chanterelles have a really delicate flavor that can get lost if you do too much to them. Myself, I like to do the dry sautée, then add olive oil or a little butter until they start to brown, and put them on a slice of good bread. The bread is only there as a delivery medium, and as a way to soak up the extra oil/butter, so skipping that part is fine. Just enjoy them on their own, with a little salt and pepper. (Porcinis would be great with a steak, but I think the steak is just too powerful for the chanties.)
I would disagree with the person above who suggests drying them. Again, that delicate flavor -- it gets lost when they're dried. Other mushrooms' flavor intensifies when they're dried; not so with chanterelles. Best way to preserve them is to do that dry sautée above until the liquid starts coming out, then freeze them.
At the risk of being obnoxious, I offer you my credentials.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:24 PM on December 13, 2014 [2 favorites]
I'm kind of a purist about this, to be honest. Chanterelles have a really delicate flavor that can get lost if you do too much to them. Myself, I like to do the dry sautée, then add olive oil or a little butter until they start to brown, and put them on a slice of good bread. The bread is only there as a delivery medium, and as a way to soak up the extra oil/butter, so skipping that part is fine. Just enjoy them on their own, with a little salt and pepper. (Porcinis would be great with a steak, but I think the steak is just too powerful for the chanties.)
I would disagree with the person above who suggests drying them. Again, that delicate flavor -- it gets lost when they're dried. Other mushrooms' flavor intensifies when they're dried; not so with chanterelles. Best way to preserve them is to do that dry sautée above until the liquid starts coming out, then freeze them.
At the risk of being obnoxious, I offer you my credentials.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:24 PM on December 13, 2014 [2 favorites]
Do you eschew corn starch? If not, chantrelles (as well as morels) go very nicely in a Swiss fondue.
posted by plinth at 5:22 PM on December 13, 2014
posted by plinth at 5:22 PM on December 13, 2014
I'm the contrarian here - I hate them sauteed with butter. The only way I've ever enjoyed them is with cream or sour cream - which is always quite tasty to me.
A healthy amount of cooked chanterelles (microwave, sautee, steam - doesn't matter as long as you stabilize them by killing anything growing in or on them microscopically) and sour cream in a blender makes a marvelous, vaguely apricot-flavored dip.
For starters.
posted by IAmBroom at 9:12 AM on December 14, 2014
A healthy amount of cooked chanterelles (microwave, sautee, steam - doesn't matter as long as you stabilize them by killing anything growing in or on them microscopically) and sour cream in a blender makes a marvelous, vaguely apricot-flavored dip.
For starters.
posted by IAmBroom at 9:12 AM on December 14, 2014
I agree with mudpuppie about steak being too strong a flavor- I'd suggest chicken or veal- or go with the eggs as previously suggested. A cream sauce over chicken would be nice. I really disagree with the tomato sauce suggestion above- I think the chanterelle flavor would be lost. Never thought of swiss fondue- I'll have to try that. I'm surprised that chanterelles are fruiting this late in Vermont- isn't it too cold there?
posted by morchella at 10:03 AM on December 14, 2014
posted by morchella at 10:03 AM on December 14, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
Alternatively, fry them up, toss a bit of white wine in to reduce, stir in a bit of cream and top a steak with them.
posted by cog_nate at 6:01 AM on December 13, 2014 [7 favorites]