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    Home » Wild Mushroom Recipes » Mushroom Appetizers and Starters

    Sauteed Wild Mushrooms with Chevre and Flatbread

    Published: Jul 16, 2022 Modified: Mar 15, 2023 by Alan Bergo This post may contain affiliate links 3 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    Summer wild mushroom varieties have finally started to show up in my next of the woods. The first thing I made this year was a riff on one of my favorite shareable wild mushroom appetizers.

    Mixed sauteed wild mushrooms with chipped cheese, flatbread and salad

    It's basically a giant pile of sauteed mushrooms with whipped cheese and a sprinkle of pickled ramps you smear over flatbread, with an optional salad on the side. 

    Golden chanterelle mushrooms (Cantharellus phasmatis)
    Chanterelles are  finally here, but they've been sparse.

    There's some South of France vibes here. It makes for a good al fresco meal, and comes together quickly after a long day in the woods. 

    Wild Mushrooms 

    I used a few different types of wild mushrooms that are great in a blend: chanterelles, chicken of the woods mushrooms, cornflower boletes, and a lone quilted green russulas or green brittle gill. Feel free to use whatever mushroom varieties you like, but it's best made with a variety. 

    The cornflower bolete or Gyroporus cyanescens
    Cornflower boletes, of which I only usually find a few here and there, are perfect added to a blend of sauteed wild mushrooms. Also, can you tell these grow in sandy soil? 

    For cooking, you want to show off the mushrooms individually, so it's good to be picky in how you cut them. It's important that the mushrooms are generally the same size: not too big, not too small. You want them to be able to fit on a spoon. Golden chanterelles I leave whole when possible. Larger mushrooms are cut into thick slices or quartered. 

    Sliced chanterelle, cornflower bolete, russula, and chicken of the woods mushrooms

    Since I wash all my wild mushrooms before cooking they contain a good amount of water. To cook them without having oil splatter everywhere, I start them off in a hot pan with a splash of water or stock for a wet-saute.

    If you're not familiar the wet saute is a great way to cook large pans of mushrooms. Cooking them in a splash of water first allows you to control the amount of fat you use, which prevents them from getting too oily.  

    Summer savory, thyme, and rosemary
    Herbs from my first ever garden: savory, thyme, and parsley root tops.

    After the water has evaporated, I add a little oil, finishing with a knob of butter and a mix of herbs. I finished these with a mixture of summer savory, thyme and parsley root tops. Feel free to add whatever fresh herbs you have on hand. 

    Cheese 

    You can use all kinds of different cheeses here, the most important thing is that it's spreadable. I used Bulgarian feta thinned with yogurt and splash of cream or its whey, blended in a food processor until it's smooth and fluffy.

    Good feta is hard to come by though, so I'm writing the recipe using chevre as it can be mashed with a fork with a splash of cream, and the 4oz packages are just about the perfect size. All you need is something spreadable to use as mortar for securing the mushrooms on the flatbread. You could also use labneh, hummus, or baba ghanoush. 

    Flatbread 

    The flatbread is the vehicle for everything here. I made a version flavored with wild herbs using dried bee balm and ramp leaves, but it's  fine to use a packaged pita or naan in a pinch. If you use a packaged product make sure to heat them up on a griddle first to improve their texture. 

    Wild herb flatbread
    Wild herb flatbread
    Wild herb flatbread

    Greens 

    A fresh green salad adds some color and lightens things up a bit. It's optional, but it's a perfect place for some of the tender leafy greens I had in my garden. They also add good color that makes the plate pop. 

    Purple orache, nasturtium, wild chard, and heirloom lambs quarters salad
    Close up of purple orache leaves showing their tiny balls of epicutaneous wax which helps them shed water. Lambs quarters have the same trait.

    I had some orache, heirloom lambs quarters, spinach beet, and nasturtium leaves that made a great side salad. Use whatever you have on hand, or skip it. It's all about the mushrooms at the end of the day. 

    Mixed sauteed wild mushrooms with chipped cheese, flatbread and salad
    Mixed sauteed wild mushrooms with chipped cheese, flatbread and salad
    Print Recipe
    5 from 1 vote

    Sauteed Wild Mushrooms with Chevre and Bee Balm Flatbread

    A blend of sauteed summer wild mushrooms flavored with garlic and herbs, with whipped cheese, and flatbread is a great wild mushroom recipe that will serve a crowd after a long day in the woods.
    Prep Time45 mins
    Cook Time20 mins
    Total Time1 hr 5 mins
    Course: Appetizer, Snack
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: Dried wild mushrooms, Flatbread
    Servings: 6 Servings
    Calories: 155kcal
    Author: Alan Bergo

    Equipment

    • 1 12 inch cast iron skillet or saute pan
    • 1 mixing bowl

    Ingredients

    Mushrooms

    • 10 oz wild mushrooms
    • 1 large clove garlic
    • Pinch red pepper flakes
    • ¼ cup stock or water
    • Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
    • Fresh herbs such as summer savory, to taste
    • 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
    • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
    • Pickled ramps or other pickles, such as gherkins or whatever you like, thinly sliced about 1-2 Tablespoons

    Cheese

    • 8 oz High quality feta such as Bulgarian. *See note.
    • ⅓ cup Thick Greek yogurt

    Green Salad

    • 4 oz fresh small salad greens
    • Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
    • Extra virgin olive oil to taste
    • Fresh lemon juice to taste

    Flatbread-see recipe below (use some pre-made naan in a pinch)

      Instructions

      Cheese

      • Put the feta and yogurt into the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth and fluffy. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally to help it blend. Add a little extra whey or a splash of milk if it needs help getting a smooth consistency. Reserve the whipped cheese.

      Clean the mushrooms

      • Fill a sink with cold water. With a paring knife in hand, swish each mushroom individually in the water to loosen any grit, then pare and trim the knife, putting cleaned mushrooms in a single layer on a tray lined with paper towels.
      • Cut the mushrooms into thick slices. If you have chanterelles, do your best to keep them whole or in large pieces.

      Cooking

      • In a large 10 inch pan, heat the mushrooms and the water on high until the mushrooms are wilted and have given up their juice.
      • Add the oil and season to taste with salt and pepper, then cook until lightly browned. Move the mushrooms to the side of the pan, add the garlic and butter and cook for 2 minutes more.
      • Finally add the herbs and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, double check the seasoning for salt, and serve.

      Salad

      • Quickly toss the greens with a stingy amount of oil, a dash of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

      Serving

      • To serve, spread a thick swoosh of cheese off-center on a large plate, arranging the mushrooms in the middle. Cut the flatbreads into wedges and arrange around the side. Sprinkle the pickles over the mushrooms.
      • Mound the salad greens where you can. Smear each piece of flatbread with a bit of the cheese, which will help the mushrooms adhere. Spoon some mushrooms on top of the cheese, and eat with the salad on the side.

      Video

      Notes

      On the Cheese 
      If you don't have a store that sells good feta held in whey in large blocks (Mediterranean markets carry it) use a 4 oz tube of chevre mashed, and then whisked with heavy cream until spreadable.
      You can use regular feta, but it's saltier. 8 oz of cheese will make a little more than you need, but it's basically the smallest amount you can make in a food processor which incorporates more air and gives the fluffiest result. 

      Nutrition

      Calories: 155kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 435mg | Potassium: 234mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 218IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 190mg | Iron: 1mg
      Wild herb flatbread
      Print Recipe
      4.50 from 2 votes

      Wild Herb Flatbreads

      Simple homemade flatbreads flavored with wild herbs like bee balm and dried ramp leaves.
      Prep Time15 mins
      Cook Time15 mins
      Rising time2 hrs
      Course: Appetizer, Side Dish
      Cuisine: American
      Keyword: bee balm, Ramp Leaves
      Servings: 6
      Author: Alan Bergo

      Ingredients

      • 2 cups all purpose flour
      • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
      • 1 teaspoon sugar
      • 2 teaspoons instant yeast
      • ¾ Cup warm water
      • 2 Tablespoons dried ramp leaves crumbled
      • 1.5 Tablespoons dried bee balm leaves crumbled, any woody stems removed

      Instructions

      • Mix the flour, sugar bee balm, ramp leaves and salt. Add the water to the bowl of a stand mixer, then the flour mixture, oil and yeast. Work with the paddle attachment until just combined, then switch to the dough hook and knead for a few minutes until the dough comes together and cleans the side of the bowl.
      • Remove the dough and form into a ball, then transfer to an oiled bowl, cover with cling film, and allow to rise at room temperature until doubled in size. Punch the dough down and reform into a ball.
      • From here the dough can be made ahead of time or frozen.
      • When it’s time to cook, remove the dough from the fridge and divide into four pieces (or whatever size).
      • On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out thinly into a long, rough oval, then put directly onto a hot, lightly oiled griddle and cook until browned on both sides. Ideally you’ll serve immediately after the flatbreads come off the griddle and are still hot, but they can sit for a bit and can be gently reheated.

      Mushrooms Mentioned in This Post 

      • Cornflower Bolete (Gyroporus cyanescens)
      • Quilted Green Russula (Russula parovirescens)
      • Golden Chanterelles 
      • Chicken of the Woods 
      « Green Black Walnut Jam / Preserves
      Wild Chicken Mushroom Thai Red Curry »

      Reader Interactions

      Comments

      1. Becca

        July 17, 2022 at 12:23 pm

        This sounds amazing! I've gotta prepare this for an upcoming gathering. What might I use besides ramps? They don't grow down here.

        Reply
        • Alan Bergo

          July 20, 2022 at 1:51 pm

          Use some diced pickled gherkins, or skip it. Pickled vegetables, cut into bite-sized pieces are fine too. It doesn't have to be ramps.

          Reply

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      Chef Alan Bergo

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