It's Chanterelle Season

[mikeycook]

When I think Chanterelles, I think rabbit (preferably with legs boned and stuffed).

Edited September 16, 2004 by mikeycook (log)

[Bux]

I took at look at the signs at the market this past weekend and it looks to me that although many are indeed coming from loccal sources, some of these mushrooms are coming from other countries as well.  Some from Scotland, some from Russia.

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Chanterelles we saw in Paris on sale for 6€ a kilo, were marked as coming from Portugal. They looked good and had a fine aroma. Had I kitchen I would have bought some. Next week I'll be paying more for cremini mushrooms. There is such a dichotomy when it comes to food in France. One minute I think it's the only place to be and then the next it appears to have gone to hell. Am I so jaded or have so many restaurants lost the way?

[bleudauvergne]

What you need to do, Bux, is to come here and cook for awhile. Your faith will return.

There's been much talk about this year being especially good for mushrooms, and especially for truffles due to rain. The price for the real ones was nearly €1.00/gram for last year, this year should it should come down somewhat.

I want to go mushroom hunting with someone who has some experience. Our recent attempt was a fiasco.

When I think Chanterelles, I think rabbit (preferably with legs boned and stuffed).

John, do you have a recipe?

[endless autumn]

I want to go mushroom hunting with someone who has some experience. Our recent attempt was a fiasco.

There's a magazine called 'Special Champignon Magazine' (good title) which is on sale fairly widely in the Pyrenees Orientales and should be available 'in a good maison de presse near you'.

If you have a look in the back of the magazine (have a look in the front as well: some decent recipes from proper chefs and beautiful photos of fungi) there is a list of mycological associations by departement who will organise forays.

I don't know how useful they will be (they won't be taking you to their favourite may well be gracious enough to hand over some of their spoils to an enthusiastic beginner.

[bleudauvergne]

There's a magazine called 'Special Champignon Magazine' (good title) ...

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I'll ask at the magazine shop tomorrow.

[petite tête de chou]

Polenta/chanterelle timbale

Crepes, tarts, galettes, stratas

Wild rice/chanterelle stuffing for winter squash, puff pastry or game

Dried and ground into a powder- use in fresh pasta, stews and sauces

Chanterelle/white fish balls in mushroom broth

[DRColby]

I want to go mushroom hunting with someone who has some experience.  Our recent attempt was a fiasco. 

We were in Paris about a year ago this month and stumbled into a mycological show at Luxemborug Gardens. It was welcoming and impressive. I based that on also belonging here to the Puget Sound mushroom society. The members had all kinds of magazines and cookbooks on display. They were friendly, and - in short - I think they would welcome you to hunt with them.

Another time in late October French friends took us mushroom hunting at Fountainbleau. Lots of people, but amazing we found edibles, mostly hedgehogs (toothed fungi).

Once in the Cote' d'Azur a pair of sisters took me hunting in the Martime Alps. We found nothing. They blamed the Swiss for invading their country whenever there were Fall rains.

Just remember: The French don't use pigs to hunt truffles because they don't look good on their arm.

The French take their mushroom hunting very seriously, I am amazed at the number of clubs and books available to you. All of which, I think, is great.

dave

[Bux]

What you need to do, Bux, is to come here and cook for awhile.  Your faith will return. 

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Exactly my point. I see the ingredients and I see the traditional charcuteries, fromageries, patisseries, etc, but I see a weakness in the food prepared by restaurant professionals. It doesn't speak well for the tradition if Americans are doing the cooking.

[mikeycook]

What you need to do, Bux, is to come here and cook for awhile.  Your faith will return. 

There's been much talk about this year being especially good for mushrooms, and especially for truffles due to rain.  The price for the real ones was nearly €1.00/gram for last year, this year should it should come down somewhat.

I want to go mushroom hunting with someone who has some experience.  Our recent attempt was a fiasco. 

John, do you have a recipe?

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I have tried a few on my own, but never committed them to paper. Several times in the Rhone I have had rabbit stuffed with chanterelles and have tried to imitate it. I will see if I can find a similar recipe.

[Druckenbrodt]

I bought some chanterelles on special offer from my local greengrocer on rue Montorgeuil. I have to say I was a bit disappointed and am wondering am I missing the point? Did I prepare them wrong? Was I buying them too late in the season? Is there some trick I'm missing?

I fried them in shallots and butter. Let all those excess juices reduce. Nothing much was happening flavourwise so I added a bit of garlic. Still nothing happening. Chucked in some fresh parsely. added a little more salt and pepper. Still nothing. Then lobbed in a little bit of sherry and as a final last resort stirred in some turkish yoghurt I had in the fridge. Oh and I put in some mustard at some point too. The final result was OK but a bit overworked - the chanterelles were just a prop for the other flavours really.

Thing is I'm a real believer in letting ingredients speak for themselves and meddling as little as possible, so I was a bit dissapointed that it came to all that.

Where did I go wrong? I'm new to Chanterelles and somehow I'd imagined they'd have a glorious individual flavour that needed minimal fussing. Also any suggestions on how to clean up Chanterelles with out spending hours picking out bits of moss and pine needles?

[bleudauvergne]

Hey Druckenbrodt,

We are still seeing them at the market, at one vendor who imports from Russia. So they're still in season somewhere. Its true this is not a pungent mushroom. I think that they have a wonderful flavor but you have to be prepared for it and keep the cooking as dry as possible. When serving alone, I cook them in hot fresh butter alone, without shallot or garlic, which can overshadow the flavor. I make sure they are completely dry so that you don't dilute the flavor. I pour off the juice during the cooking process if it starts to get excessive (and pour it into the soup!) Some people don't really like them - for the reason you describe, not much flavor punch in comparison to say a cepe for instance. This mushroom does compliment some things very well. I find that keeping things simple is best for them.

As for cleaning them, if they're covered in excessive layers of bark and moss and pine needles at the market, I'd pass them over. If you've got a batch that needs washing, my mother in law suggests a brief soak in a receptable that you can agitate to get things to fall off. Then a whirl in the salad spinner which has been lined with a dish cloth. Some purists say you must never wash them but more often than not I do find it necessary. If they're clean, you can just trim the stems that are dirty. You want to make sure they're good and dry before you start cooking. Laying them out on a clean cloth for an hour or so can help too.

[Ptipois]

When you choose chanterelles at the market, pick up a large one. If it feels heavy and damp, just don't buy. It probably means that the mushrooms have been soaked before selling to give them more weight. They will have very little taste if any.

Chanterelles, like any mushroom, should see as little water as possible. Water is the enemy of mushrooms. The best way to clean them is rubbing them gently with damp absorbent paper. If they're a little unclean from the forest and are speckled with black humus bits, that's no big deal. The main thing is avoiding sand and mineral grit, and if they have this, then it's better to wash them briefly (and drain them well).

[Druckenbrodt]

Thank you for the advice Bleu and Ptipois - I knew you'd have sound words of wisdom. I think those chanterelles were both a bit on the old and damp side. And quite dirty. So they weren't greatly helped by my rinsing them for good measure... This probably explains why they tasted of water and nothing much else. I just assumed if you reduced the juices all would be rectified though? They were were also remarkably cheap, all things that anyone but an idiot like me should have taken as very clear warning signs.

Next time I shall not be seduced by a crazy low price and will inspect more thoroughly...

Bleu next time I shall just do them with butter as you recommend. Am determined not to give up on them. You hardly ever see them in the UK so it would be a shame not to make the most of them while in France.

[Bux]

We had a light lunch in a cafe on the rue Montorgeuil in September. I remember seeing chanterelles for sale at an unbelievably inexpensive price in a shop almost across the street. We were with a small group, only one of whom lived in Paris, but he bought a kilo thinking they were too great a bargain to pass up. I have no idea how good they were.

[Druckenbrodt]

We had a light lunch in a cafe on the rue Montorgeuil in September. I remember seeing chanterelles for sale at an unbelievably inexpensive price in a shop almost across the street. We were with a small group, only one of whom lived in Paris, but he bought a kilo thinking they were too great a bargain to pass up. I have no idea how good they were.

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Hmm, would be interesting to know how your friend fared! Since there are only three greengrocers (actually technically I think only two) on the rue Montorgeuil, the probability is pretty high they came from the same shop... called the Palais de Fruit which in most other respects I adore. They always have lots of fruit and veg on special offer on stalls at the front of the shop. A system I rather like. But from previous experience in Paris, more so perhaps than elsewhere, special offer stuff really has to be consumed in less than twelve hours following purchase! And in the case of chanterelles, clearly has other disadvantages.

[Bux]

"Lots of fruit and veg on special offer on stalls at the front of the shop," is the perfect description of the place I have in mind.

I took at look at the signs at the market this past weekend and it looks to me that although many are indeed coming from local sources, some of these mushrooms are coming from other countries as well.

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I recall that these mushrooms were from some other country and our assumption was that they might not be as flavorful as ones from France. Sorry I can't remember the country of origin.

I just spoke to someone here who had asked how the chanterelles were when we were all still in Paris. I can report that the wife of the gentleman who bought the chanterelles thought they had little flavor, but I understand she's not much of a fan of mushrooms in general. Not very conclusive information, but it appears that as with much bargain food stuffs, they weren't such a bargain though as I recall, they weren't much of an investment either.

In general I think of chanterelles as being delicate in flavor and going well with lighter poultry and cream, but they should not be tasteless. One of our companions was saying at the time that she found the market street far less colorful and less animated than it was ten years ago when she was living in the neighborhood. She recalled the vendors loudly hawking their wares on the street in the "old days."

[MobyP]

Last night I sauteed some French chanterelles in rendered foie gras fat, and (unsurpringly) they were delicious.

[helenas]

And i made roasted chanterelles and butternut squash yesterday from Scheider's excellent "Amaranth to Zucchini" book:

"This plain recipe holds more than what the title tells, yet tastes deeply delicious. The bosky, peppery mushroom juices are the sole source of moisture and mingle mysteriously with the sweet squash".

Mushrooms and squash are baked tightly covered until cooked through and then roasted uncovered in high oven just to be browned and juices reduced to glaze. The only spicing called for was a hint of cinnamon although i used Zen Garden spice mix that is also quite delicate. Very good.

[bleudauvergne]

helenas

That dish sounds delightful. Can you give us some details of what went into it? Did you use butter? Simply the mushrooms in the hollowed squash? Thanks.

[helenas]

With pleasure, but as i (or more precise ELizabeth Schneider) said, it's a very simple recipe

mushrooms and squash (around pound of each) are cut up in 1inch pieces, put in a buttered baking dish that can hold them in two layers, tossed with couple of tbs of oil (i used a good melted butter), some cinnamon and s&p. covered tigtly with foil, and baked in the upper part of the oven (350F) for some 20min. Stirred, and then for another 20min until just done but not mushy. I had smaller mushrroms, so it took me 30min overall to reach this stage. Then remove the cover, toss again carefully and bake in the high oven (425F) until browned and juices reduced to glaze.