I got a fever, and the only prescription, is more matsutake! Bonus points if you read that with Christopher Walken narrating. Hunting matsutake in Minnesota, or the Midwest in general seemed like an unknown thing until a few years ago, with the exception of a few talented experts I know of like Tavis Lynch from…
Gilled Mushrooms
Dried Lactarius Broth
Snow is on the ground, and that means it’s time to start working through the mushroom stash. The first thing in my queue was a simple broth with shrimp dumplings based on an old recipe I used to run as a deep fried fish cake appetizer. The dumplings were just for fun since I was…
Matsutake Miso Soup
I can still taste the first bowl of miso soup I ever had. It was at a higher-ish end Tepanyaki restaurant chain called Benihana, one of those places where they have a cook make the food in front of you on a grill set in the table-it’s a great place to bring dates. Before all…
Wild Mushroom Conserve with Walnut Oil
I have a lot of different ways I like to preserve mushrooms I’ve learned or come up with myself over the years. This method is one of the more interesting ones, and, I can’t take credit for it. When I started working at Heartland, with it’s daily changing menu that the staff collaboratively designed, one…
Whole Seared Matsutake, Medium-Rare
When we think of how to cook mushrooms, generally the thought process is they should be cooked through, then you proceed with whatever dish you’re making. Rarely, there might be some special wild mushrooms you can eat raw, like porcini, Amanita caesarea, or my little matsutake here, if any of them aren’t horribly bug riddled,…
Nasturtium, Arugula, and Purslane Salad with Milkcaps and Shrimp
The marinated milkcap mushroom preserves I talked about in this post are fine out of the jar, but even better warmed up and put on a plate with something. I love a good salad, and my nasturtiums have been in full swing, so whatever I made, I knew they’d be going in there. A great…
Mushroom Preserves with Tomato, Coriander and Chili
Here’s a great way to put up any mushroom, but especially those that have gills waiting to soak up juices, or need a little boost in the flavor department, as milkcaps and ho-hum mushrooms like Pluteus and Megacollybia rodmani do, milkcaps being vastly superior of the aforementioned three. The marinade is a little trick I…
Wild Mushroom Caps Cooked in Embers
The more I cook, the less I put on a plate. I want the best nature can offer in the moment, and I want it as simple as possible, kind of. I say kind of, because something as simple as a dish called “wild mushroom caps cooked in embers” is more complicated than it looks….
Lactifluus Volemus with Shrimp, Smoked Paprika, Garlic and Parsley
One of the most noticeable things about Lactifluus volemus is their smell, a sort of strong, cheesy, crotchy aroma. Whatever you want to compare it to, it’s strong, and it’s noticeable, as long as the mushrooms are fresh. The smell fades as it cooks though, and transforms into delicious, nutty, mushroomyness. Here’s one of the…
Pan Roasted Blewits, Squash and Brussels Sprouts with Sage
Going to the farmers market always gives me inspiration. It’s fun to not have a set idea of what I want to cook and just let my instinct (or cravings) guide me. One week this past fall, with a big bag of blewits burning a hole in my fridge I was on the look out for…
Tricholoma caligatum / False Matsutake
Oh my god! I found one! IT’S A MATSUTAKE! No, no it’s not. The good news: is if you’ve found these mushrooms, you’re on the right track. Be happy that you’ve come far enough that you can differentiate something in the field that *looks* like a matsutake, and grows right around the same. Unfortunately they…
Wilted Amaranth, Chesnok Garlic and Summer Wild Mushrooms
I’ve been eating more and more amaranth in the past few years, for some reason I forgot I could wilt it like spinach. For a year or two all I did was put it in salads, and then it needs to be blended with other greens. If you use it raw, it can be a…
Candy Cap Mushroom Semifreddo
A while ago at the restaurant I got a wild hair and was craving candy cap mushrooms in some kind of dessert. I’d made ice cream, bread pudding, marshmallow, custard, all the usual things, but I wanted something a little different. I also know that they’re a hard sell in Minneapolis since most people have…