A thick slice of bread piled high with fresh chanterelle mushrooms, shallots, butter, herbs, and finished with a handful of fresh wood sorrel is a great way to enjoy the first flush of the year. This chanterelle toast recipe is inspired by my friend, Finnish chef and forager Sami Tallberg.
I met Sami last year in Finland on a marketing shoot for the Fiskars company. We picked chanterelles together and made a few recipes with a group of chefs and authors from around Europe.
Ingredients
You'll need fresh chanterelle mushrooms, white wine, shallots, fresh herbs like tarragon, parsley and chives, plenty of butter, and a handful of wood sorrel. It's also a good place to use edible flowers like creeping bellflower, that's ready at the same time.
Sammi's original recipe used ice wine and licorice fern (Polypodium glycyrrhiza). Ice wine is prohibitively expensive, and licorice fern can be hard to find so those are optional. You can also make creamy chanterelle toast, and I'm including instructions for that in the recipe.
Below: Wood sorrel and Campanula flowers make a nice summer garnish.
How to Make Chanterelles on Toast
Think of this as an open-faced sandwich to eat with a knife and fork. First you'll butter and cook a piece of good bread like sourdough. The chanterelles are washed and cleaned if needed. Ideally you'll leave them whole or cut in half if large.
Cook the chanterelles in a saute pan until they're about half-done, then add thinly sliced shallots. When the shallots are cooked you deglaze the pan with white wine.
Reduce the wine, add a knob of butter and cook until the sauce thickens. Finally, add the herbs, season with salt to taste, and spoon the mushroom mixture over the toast. Garnish with the wood sorrel and bellflowers and serve.
If you want to make it creamy, which will amplify the flavor of the chanterelles, you'll reduce the wine by half and add some heavy cream.
Related Posts
Chanterelle Toast
Equipment
- 1 10 inch saute pan
- 1 grill or grill
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon flavorless cooking oil
- 3 oz fresh chanterelle mushrooms
- 2 oz thinly sliced shallot cut into 1 inch julienne
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter plus more for the bread
- ¼ cup dry white wine or a splash of ice wine
- 1 tbsp sliced mixed herbs tarragon, parsley, and chives.
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 1 handful fresh wood sorrel
- edible flowers, to garnish such as creeping bell flower or nasturtiums
- 1 thick slice of good bread such as a French boule
- ¼ cup heavy cream (optional)
Instructions
- Wash and clean the chanterelles as needed then dry on a towel until needed. Ideally you'll be able to leave them whole, but large mushrooms can be cut into halves or pieces.
- Heat the oil in a saute pan or skillet over medium heat and add the chanterelles.
- Cook until the chanterelles are about half done, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, butter and griddle a thick piece of good bread. You can also oil and grill it.
- Push the shallots to the side of the pan and add the shallots. Add half of the butter. Season the shallots and mushrooms with salt to taste.
- Sweat the shallots until completely cooked, then add the wine, increase the heat and reduce by half.
Creamy chanterelles on toast
- Add the herbs and cream and reduce until thickened. Double check the seasoning for salt and pepper and adjust until it tastes good to you.
Herb Version a la Sami Tallber
- For the herb version, omit the cream and add an additional tablespoon or two of butter after the wine has been added and simmer until the sauce thickens.
Serving
- Spoon the mushroom mixture over the grilled bread, top with a handful of fresh wood sorrel and bellflowers if using and serve. Eat it with a knife and fork, and a cold glass of white wine.
Joy
Fantastic! Just got my first meal sized amount yesterday. Tarragon was the perfect herb here, and gave me a chance to dig into my now prosperous planting. Anything else you suggest for my extra herb?
Alan Bergo
Hi Joy. If you have extra tarragon it is the best for eggs, omelets. When I use it, it's generally mixed with all purpose soft herbs like chives, parsley or chervil if I can manage. Toss with warm roasted beets, in salads, potatoes, and just about any sauteed vegetables. Or a similar dish like the one in this post, my favorite chanterelle omelet.
Greg Martin
I found a copy of Sami's book at Kitchen Arts & Letters and it just came in! Now I just need to find some chanterelles. Thank you Alan!
Alan Bergo
Hey that's great. Glad you were able to find it. I really like that book.
Claudia Marieb
Simple and delicious. Perfect for a single person's meal after foraging!
Alan Bergo
The same way I had it (as a single person). Glad it worked for you.
Quint Hankel
Two weeks till we start to forage for chanterelles, can’t wait. Apparently I accidentally put a big rock on our bell plant but my wife assures me we have nasturtiums!
Alan Bergo
Wow you guys have a later season. Good luck.