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French Onion Soup with Porcini or Candy Caps
Serves 4
This soup is excellent with porcini, and amazing with candy caps. 2 onions, sliced 2 tablespoons butter 2 to 4 tablespoons chopped dried porcini or candy caps 4 cups water or stock 1 teaspoon salt or to taste 4 slices baguette or French bread, toasted 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, Asiago, or mozzarella cheese Slice the onions. Place the butter in a 6 cup saucepan and sauté the onions, stirring frequently until they brown. Add water or stock, mushrooms, and salt and bring to a boil. Boil 10 minutes. Divide bread between bowls, fill with soup, and top with 1 tablespoon grated cheese. |
Candy Cap Flan Serves 8
Preheat the oven to 325° F. Use an 8" square glass baking pan for this recipe; it does not need to be greased. Prepare a larger pan that the 8" pan will sit in by putting the baking pan into the larger pan, then pouring boiling water into the larger pan to fill it one inch. Remove the smaller pan and place the larger pan into the oven. ¾ cup sugar 3 cups milk or half and half 20 candy caps, fresh or dried 3 eggs Melt ½ cup of the sugar in a frying pan over low heat until it becomes a rich golden brown. Pour immediately into the baking pan before it burns, spreading it over the bottom. Put the remaining ¼ cup of sugar, the milk, eggs and candy caps in the blender and puree until smooth. Pour into the pan on top of the caramelized sugar. Place the baking pan in the oven in the larger pan with the water. Bake for a half hour to 45 minutes. Begin checking after a half hour by shaking the pan slightly to see if it is set. Remove from oven as soon as it is set in the center. It is best removed from the oven before it begins to simmer. If you see any bubbling of the flan through the glass, remove from oven immediately, or it will toughen and separate. 
Above: Candy Cap Mushrooms
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“Beefsteak” Stroganoff
serves 4 1 cup Fistulina hepatica (Beefsteak mushroom), chopped 1 package (8-10 ounces) egg noodles 1 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic 1 pound chopped thinly sliced beef sirloin 1 cup sour cream 1 bay leaf 1 cup or more chicken or beef stock salt and pepper to taste Parmesan cheese Sauté mushroom, onion, and beef in olive oil until the beef has browned on all sides. Add bay leaf and garlic, sauté a few minutes, then add broth and simmer covered for 1/2 hour, reducing liquid but adding more broth if necessary to prevent burning. Meanwhile boil the noodles. Add sour cream to meat mixture and reheat. Drain the noodles and gently stir into cooked meat mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with a dash of parmesan cheese. |
The recipes on this page are samples from the book. See our blog for more new recipes, which are not in this edition of the book.
Copyright 2014, by Alison Gardner and Merry Winslow
Copyright 2014, by Alison Gardner and Merry Winslow
Reviews
Here are some reviews of The Wild Mushroom Cookbook: Recipes From Mendocino:
Review in MushRumors: the newsletter of the Northwest Mushroomers Association
Reviewed by Buck McAdoo
The Wild Mushroom Cookbook by Alison Gardner and Merry Winslow is just what it says it is. It’s pretty wild. Even the cover gives you an inkling of what’s inside. Turkey Tails on the top left corner, a basket of Boletus edulis on the lower right, a clump of Shaggy Manes, a bowl of chanterelles, and a full pecan, candy cap pie. Already, the question is: what are they not going to attempt?
Then you flash forward to some of the recipe titles within: Porcini Panzanella, Cocorra Mousse Tapas, Beef Pho with Matsutake, Candy Cap Sticky Buns, Admirable Mirabilis Fish, Beet and Black Trumpet Aspic. You soon understand these authors and chefs have meandered through wild mushroom culinary zones where few have tread before. Along with all these tantalizing dishes comes possibly the best Introduction to mycophagy I’ve ever read. In just a few pages it touches on poisonous fungi, the dangers from rotten mushrooms, allergies from mushrooms, and mushrooms that may accumulate metals due to their location. An example might be Fairy Rings picking up exhaust fumes from passing cars.
But after these obligate remarks, the sun soon shines. We read how subtle the varying flavors of wild mushrooms are, how they can stand on their own or enhance other dishes as if you have just discovered a new spice. We read that mushrooms are high on protein and minerals but low on carbohydrates and fats. There is even a paragraph on how best to harvest your wild mushrooms with minimum impact on the substrate. Then, best of all, there is a large section simply entitled ‘The Mushrooms’. Here you learn the best methods of preparation and preservation for each genus or group. You have the Hawkwing, the Shaggy Manes, the Russulas, the Pig’s Ears, and so on. You discover which groups can be dried or frozen and how best to proceed. Even the genus Suillus gets its moment on stage.
The authors are two ladies from Mendocino. The very first sentence in the Forward is worth quoting here.
‘The Mendocino Coast is a magical place to see and enjoy wild mushrooms.’ This is no overstatement. Where else can you find Lactarius argillaceifolius var. megacarpus as large as pancakes? Where else can you find the elusive, scarlet-capped
Leccinum manzanitae but in secret spots along this coast whose fog can produce mushrooms almost all year long?
I haven’t been in Mendocino since 1981. I remember spending most of a night in a very lively bar with tropical sailing buddy Daniel Fernandez. We soon learned that not far from Mendocino could be found an ancient pygmy forest where the trees were only fifteen feet tall. It was thought that the forest was located on a volcanic plateau with very little topsoil on top. If one could get permission to collect the species there, imagine the rarities within. It would be great to get back and check that out. Meanwhile I would urge anyone into mycophagy to buy this book. It is available at Village Books in
Fairhaven, but I would highly recommend our club to try to order it wholesale. It’s just that good.
A Sampling of the Recipes From the Wild Mushroom Cookbook, Recipes From Mendocino
Clavariadelphus Green Bean Casserole
Serves 6
1 pound green beans
3 onions
10 Clavariadelphus truncatus
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup Parmasean cheese
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup slivered or sliced almonds
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. String the beans
and cut them into 2” pieces.Chop the onions, slice the
mushrooms crosswise, or at a diagonal.Put the onions
and mushrooms with the beans, into a large bowl. Melt
1/4 cup of the butter and pour it over the bean mixture.
Add Parmasan and toss. Put the mixture into a suit-
able casserole dish, cover and bake for 1 hour.
Melt the remaining 1/4 cup of butter in a skillet. Fry the bread crumbs in it until they begin to brown. Remove
from heat and add the almonds. When the casserole is done, sprinkle with the bread and almond topping and
serve.
Recipe by Teddy Winslow
Morels With Asparagus and Scallops
Serves 2
8 morels, fresh or dried
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 teaspoons butter
2 cups asparagus, cut into 1 inch lengths
1/2 pounds scallops
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup slivered red bell peppers
salt to taste
If mushrooms are dried, cover with hot water, soak half an hour and drain.
Cut the morels in half lengthwise and clean out any debris from inside.
Saute the onions and mushrooms in the butter over medium heat.When the onions beginn to soften, add the
asparagus. If using large sea scallops, add them after 5 minutes of sauteing. If using smaller, bay scallops, wait
10 minutes and add them to the pan mixture.
Add the red pepper and minced garlic and saute until the scallops
are just done. Don’t overcook the scallops or they will become tough.
Add salt to taste and serve with rice.
Review in MushRumors: the newsletter of the Northwest Mushroomers Association
Reviewed by Buck McAdoo
The Wild Mushroom Cookbook by Alison Gardner and Merry Winslow is just what it says it is. It’s pretty wild. Even the cover gives you an inkling of what’s inside. Turkey Tails on the top left corner, a basket of Boletus edulis on the lower right, a clump of Shaggy Manes, a bowl of chanterelles, and a full pecan, candy cap pie. Already, the question is: what are they not going to attempt?
Then you flash forward to some of the recipe titles within: Porcini Panzanella, Cocorra Mousse Tapas, Beef Pho with Matsutake, Candy Cap Sticky Buns, Admirable Mirabilis Fish, Beet and Black Trumpet Aspic. You soon understand these authors and chefs have meandered through wild mushroom culinary zones where few have tread before. Along with all these tantalizing dishes comes possibly the best Introduction to mycophagy I’ve ever read. In just a few pages it touches on poisonous fungi, the dangers from rotten mushrooms, allergies from mushrooms, and mushrooms that may accumulate metals due to their location. An example might be Fairy Rings picking up exhaust fumes from passing cars.
But after these obligate remarks, the sun soon shines. We read how subtle the varying flavors of wild mushrooms are, how they can stand on their own or enhance other dishes as if you have just discovered a new spice. We read that mushrooms are high on protein and minerals but low on carbohydrates and fats. There is even a paragraph on how best to harvest your wild mushrooms with minimum impact on the substrate. Then, best of all, there is a large section simply entitled ‘The Mushrooms’. Here you learn the best methods of preparation and preservation for each genus or group. You have the Hawkwing, the Shaggy Manes, the Russulas, the Pig’s Ears, and so on. You discover which groups can be dried or frozen and how best to proceed. Even the genus Suillus gets its moment on stage.
The authors are two ladies from Mendocino. The very first sentence in the Forward is worth quoting here.
‘The Mendocino Coast is a magical place to see and enjoy wild mushrooms.’ This is no overstatement. Where else can you find Lactarius argillaceifolius var. megacarpus as large as pancakes? Where else can you find the elusive, scarlet-capped
Leccinum manzanitae but in secret spots along this coast whose fog can produce mushrooms almost all year long?
I haven’t been in Mendocino since 1981. I remember spending most of a night in a very lively bar with tropical sailing buddy Daniel Fernandez. We soon learned that not far from Mendocino could be found an ancient pygmy forest where the trees were only fifteen feet tall. It was thought that the forest was located on a volcanic plateau with very little topsoil on top. If one could get permission to collect the species there, imagine the rarities within. It would be great to get back and check that out. Meanwhile I would urge anyone into mycophagy to buy this book. It is available at Village Books in
Fairhaven, but I would highly recommend our club to try to order it wholesale. It’s just that good.
A Sampling of the Recipes From the Wild Mushroom Cookbook, Recipes From Mendocino
Clavariadelphus Green Bean Casserole
Serves 6
1 pound green beans
3 onions
10 Clavariadelphus truncatus
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup Parmasean cheese
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup slivered or sliced almonds
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. String the beans
and cut them into 2” pieces.Chop the onions, slice the
mushrooms crosswise, or at a diagonal.Put the onions
and mushrooms with the beans, into a large bowl. Melt
1/4 cup of the butter and pour it over the bean mixture.
Add Parmasan and toss. Put the mixture into a suit-
able casserole dish, cover and bake for 1 hour.
Melt the remaining 1/4 cup of butter in a skillet. Fry the bread crumbs in it until they begin to brown. Remove
from heat and add the almonds. When the casserole is done, sprinkle with the bread and almond topping and
serve.
Recipe by Teddy Winslow
Morels With Asparagus and Scallops
Serves 2
8 morels, fresh or dried
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 teaspoons butter
2 cups asparagus, cut into 1 inch lengths
1/2 pounds scallops
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup slivered red bell peppers
salt to taste
If mushrooms are dried, cover with hot water, soak half an hour and drain.
Cut the morels in half lengthwise and clean out any debris from inside.
Saute the onions and mushrooms in the butter over medium heat.When the onions beginn to soften, add the
asparagus. If using large sea scallops, add them after 5 minutes of sauteing. If using smaller, bay scallops, wait
10 minutes and add them to the pan mixture.
Add the red pepper and minced garlic and saute until the scallops
are just done. Don’t overcook the scallops or they will become tough.
Add salt to taste and serve with rice.