This year the mushroom season started later than usual. As a rule, mushroom pickers show their first hunt at the end of June, but due to the low temperatures in May, the first mushrooms are gone only by mid-July. This was confirmed to socialbites.ca by mycologist Mikhail Vishnevsky, head of the Russian Union of Mushroom Pickers.
“The country is big and the season has started in different ways in different places. In general, we can say that chanterelles go or will go a little later than normal,” he said.
Dishes with chanterelles have already appeared on the menu of restaurants – and it’s not just potatoes with mushrooms. Restaurant chef LES Andrey Kolodyazhny sees the chanterelle season as a time when chefs can show their imagination and experimentation in the kitchen.
“I love these bright and cheerful mushrooms with all my heart. The most delicious is fried. With a stir-fry with potatoes and seasonal greens – a real pleasure, ”she admitted.
In his opinion, it is not necessary to boil the chanterelles before frying, but for insurance, the mushrooms can be kept for 10 minutes in slightly acidic boiling water, then the chanterelles will not lose their color during frying.
“The most important thing is to separate and rinse them well. It is very convenient to pour chanterelle with plenty of cold water – then heavy debris will settle to the bottom, and you can select leaves and needles with your hands. And these mushrooms hide perfectly and are not wormy,” he said.
According to Kolodyazhny, chanterelles are absolutely universal and can be combined with any food: rice, meat, fish, pasta, vegetables and even buckwheat.
“If you want to freeze chanterelles for the winter, be sure to boil or boil them, otherwise they will taste bitter after fresh-frozen,” she advises.
The chef himself prefers to cook fresh chanterelles – fry them and add them to salads and soups, use them as a topping for pasta or make bruschettas.
Rustic bruschetta with chanterelle
For cooking, you will need brioche, stracciatella, chanterelles, leeks, butter, microgreens, salt and pepper, as well as canned chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini paste, garlic, olive oil, red bell pepper, salt, pepper – for hummus .
Wash the chickpeas and put them in a blender. Add the garlic, lemon juice, tahini paste, salt and pepper. Fry the peppers in a pan until soft and add the remaining ingredients. Pour in the olive oil and whisk until smooth.
Fry both sides of the fritters in a dry frying pan. Fry the onion in butter, salt and pepper. Add chanterelles to the onion and fry. Spread the stracciatella cheese, hummus over the pastry and spread the chanterelles evenly. Garnish with microgreens when serving.
Press service of the LES restaurant
The chef of the GIGI restaurant Nikita Ovchinnikov said that cooking from chanterelles is a great pleasure for him.
“These are the purest forest mushrooms, they are durable, hold their shape and do not break. Despite their high calorie content, they are easily digested and do not weigh.
The chef considers fried or boiled chanterelles to be classic chanterelle dishes. In her opinion, with this method of preparation, they stay shiny and maintain their consistency.
“It is better to fry them in butter – it will emphasize the taste of mushrooms. It is important to fry chanterelles on low heat, then they will not lose their taste and aroma, ”says Ovchinnikov.
Ovchinnikov shared an original recipe for chanterelle gnocchi with socialbites.ca.
“Potatoes with mushrooms are a classic, and I propose to cook potatoes in a non-standard version. I call gnocchi “potato pads” for their airiness and fluffiness. This Italian dish brings out new colors with chanterelles,” says the chef.
Gnocchi with chanterelle
For cooking, you will need gnocchi, dried chanterelles, porcini mushrooms, red onions, garlic, parsley, parmesan, olive oil, sour cream, mascarpone cheese, chives, salt, pepper.
Cook the gnocchi in boiling water until soft. Wash the chanterelle fillets and fry them in olive oil with finely chopped onion and a clove of garlic. Add to the mushrooms some water in which the gnocchi, mascarpone and gnocchi were boiled. Grate the Parmesan cheese on a fine grater. Finely chop the parsley and parsley with a knife. Grind dried porcini mushrooms into powder in a coffee grinder. When serving, put chanterelle gnocchi on a plate, top with sour cream, sprinkle with grated parmesan, powdered porcini mushrooms and chopped herbs.
Press service of GIGI restaurant
Dom No. Alexander Popov, chef of 8 restaurants, described the chanterelle season as a bright time not only for chefs, but also for housewives. According to him, to fully enjoy these mushrooms, you need to be able to properly process them.
It is sufficient to keep the chanterelles in ice water for 15 minutes and rub them with the soft side of a clean sponge. And make sure you cut out any damaged areas that are stained,” she advises.
After washing, Alexander Popov recommends drying fresh chanterelles well so that the mushrooms do not lose their shape.
“You can also put it in a dry, hot pan and dry it so any excess moisture evaporates. Then add oil and fry until golden brown.
For those who want to freeze mushrooms for the winter, the chef recommends pre-boiling them in salted water for 15 minutes. Another way to store chanterelles is pickling. According to Popov, mushrooms according to his recipe are elastic, crunchy and very fragrant.
pickled chanterelles
For cooking, you will need chanterelles, black pepper, cloves, garlic, bay leaves, onions, wine vinegar, sunflower oil, sugar, salt.
Rinse chanterelles, dry, boil in salted water for 25 minutes, then drain in a colander and rinse with cold water. Cut the onion into small cubes and the garlic into slices. For marinade, mix 5 black peppercorns, 1 clove, 3 bay leaves, 3 cloves of garlic, onion, 2 tbsp. I. sugar and 1 tbsp. I. salt, pour a small amount of water and boil over low heat for 5 minutes. Add a little olive oil, mushrooms and boil for another 10 minutes. Add 1 tbsp. I. wine vinegar and mix well. Place the mushrooms in sterilized jars and seal. Leave it in a warm place for a day.
Press service of the restaurant “Dom No. 8”
The chef of the Zaryadye restaurant, Sergey Lazarev, considers chanterelles the most “cool forest product”.
“The purest mushrooms in the forest! They are never wormy, which is especially nice,” he said.
According to him, the best way to cook chanterelles is frying. He does not recommend cooking and freezing fresh forest mushrooms, because after storage chanterelles turn out to be rubbery and bitter.
“A seasonal product must be seasonal. “There are mushrooms that can be boiled, pickled, frozen, but these are not chanterelles,” he said.
Lazarev added that chanterelle goes well with young zucchini.
“It will be very good if you fry zucchini pancakes and add chanterelles fried with cream to them. And a spoonful of homemade sour cream – it will be the bomb, ”she suggested.
Vitello tonnato with chanterelle
With socialbites.ca, Lazarev shared a recipe for vitello tonato with chanterelles and Caesar sauce. For cooking, you will need beef, chanterelles, parmesan cheese, onions, mayonnaise, capers, anchovies, butter, cream, salt, pepper, Provencal herbs.
Fry the beef in a pan or on the grill, rub it with plenty of salt, pepper and Provencal herbs, pour oil on it, wrap in foil and put in the oven for 40 minutes. When the meat has cooled, cut into thin slices. Prepare the sauce: Mix the oily mayonnaise, grated parmesan, capers, anchovies, add a little lemon juice and mash with a blender until smooth. Fry the chanterelles with finely chopped onions, adding a little butter, cream and salt, until golden brown. Put the meat on a plate, pour Caesar dressing on it and put the chanterelles on top. While serving, you can decorate the edges of the plate with pesto sauce and basil leaves.
Press service of Zaryadye restaurant
Timofey Sulima, the brand chef of the Soul restaurant, considers chanterelles among the most useful mushrooms in central Russia. He admitted that he likes working with them, as they have a clean, good and bright taste.
“You can salt chanterelles, fry them, bake pies with them, prepare snacks and salads, cook soups and pasta – the result will always be perfect!” he took note.
Roti with chanterelle
The chef offers to go without money and cook a traditional Indian dish with chanterelles – roti. For the cakes themselves, you will need flour, vegetable oil, water and salt. For the filling – chanterelles, chives, parmesan cheese, sesame.
Pour the flour with water, add the salt and knead the dough, then cover with a bowl or wrap in a film and leave for 10 minutes. Roll out the dough into thin circles and fry in a frying pan without oil. Grease the fried rotisserie with oil, put the chanterelles that you fried in the pan on top. Garnish with grated parmesan, chives and sesame seeds.
Soul restaurant press service
Fried chanterelles with mashed potatoes and tomato concasse
The chef of the Tyumen restaurant, Zarnizza Arkady Kuzevanov, shared the recipe for his signature dish with chanterelles, potatoes and tomato concass. For cooking, you will need chanterelles, new potatoes, vegetable oil, butter, sour cream, cream, green onions, salt, sugar and pepper.
Boil chanterelles in water and boil them to release excess water. Cut the mushrooms in half. Fry the first with finely chopped potatoes, cream and butter, then mash. Fry the remaining chanterelles in a mixture of butter and vegetable oil with salt and crushed black pepper. Boil the tomato and peel the skin. Reserve the dough for other dishes and add some sour cream, chopped green onions, salt, sugar and pepper to the seeds. Take ciabatta, put mashed potatoes and mushrooms on it, put fried chanterelles on it and pour tomato wrap.
Press service of the Zarnizza restaurant
Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.