Chanterelle Hunting

I LOVE Chanterelles. For years I have been hoping someone would let me tag along on a mushroom foraging expedition. One of P's students, who grew up mushroom hunting with his family, invited us to join him in the woods last weekend. We geared up with rubber boots, rain coats, and empty baskets.

I know the tales of people being poisoned by wild mushroom that look innocently like their tasty brethren, but Chanterelles are another story. Their fluted stalks and ribbed underbellies are unique. When we saw a Chanterelle, we knew it.

And we found many - pounds and pounds! So many that we had enough for two indulgent suppers and even a surplus that we shared with neighbors.







CHANTERELLE PASTA
inspired by Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Vegetables

• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1-2 pounds Chanterelles
• leaves from 4-5 sprigs thyme
  
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
  
• 1 leek
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• salt and pepper
• 1 pound pasta (GF folks, I love the Bionaturae pastas)
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
  

Parsley and thyme from our backyard garden...



Heat pasta water.

Gently warm cream and chicken stock in a saucepan.

Clean and chop leek. Saute leek with 1 tablespoon butter. When leek is translucent, set aside.

Clean, then chop or tear Chanterelles into nice sized pieces. Heat large saute pan with 4 tablespoons butter. Add mushroom to pan and cook vigorously. Season generously with salt, pepper, and chopped thyme leaves. Add garlic for last minute of cooking. When done, mushroom should be tender, but not mushy.

Cook pasta.

When mushrooms are done, add cream/stock and leeks to the mushroom pan. Gently simmer sauce to thicken while the pasta is cooking.

When pasta is cooked, add to the Chanterelle pan and stir to coat well. Add additional salt and pepper if necessary.

Top each serving with freshly grated Parmesan and chopped parsley.

Man oh man that was good!