Simple butter cookies are a tried and true recipe for using up those dried candy caps, and David Arora even shares a recipe for them in his excellent book All That the Rain Promises and More (get yourself a copy if you don’t have one, it’s a good, portable reference for when you can’t bring…
Russula / Lactarius
Lactifluus volemus.
Russula and lactarius mushrooms are two very different types of mushrooms, but similar enough that I categorize them together. They can be substituted for just about any mushroom recipe on this website.
Candy Cap Flan / Creme Caramel
Flan infused with candy cap mushrooms has been on my list to make for years now. I finally got to it, and, yes, it’s a great recipe for those delicious, maple-y tasting candy cap mushrooms, darling of mushroom enthusiasts the world round that they are. Flan vs Creme Caramel Real quick, for culinary nerds, flan…
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…
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…
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…
Candy Cap Caramels
Holidays remind me of seeing butter caramels sitting out on the counter at Grandma’s, or being wrapped for sale in the corner nook that’s always populated by different sweets at her house. I never ate a ton of them, but I’ve been having fun dreaming up caramels for a mignardise platter, a tray of small…
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…
Lactifluus Volemus
I’m lucky and grateful to have a network of friends that hunt different plants and mushrooms. We share information on places we’ve hunted, seasonal changes, what’s coming up when, and it helps to have company sometimes since mushroom hunting is for the most part a solitary sport. Last year my friend Matt, a local artist…
Baby Bok Choy In Lactarius Broth With Quail Eggs
Here’s a recipe I created to use dried Lactarius salmoneus, donated to the Cascade Mycological Society for their cookbook. When powdered and made into a broth, you’d be hard pressed to say it isn’t chicken stock. From my experience, different dried Lactarius resembling deliciosus, rubrilactus, and sanguifluus will give similar results. The recipe is designed…
Saffron Milkcaps With Chickpeas, Tomato, and Gran Queso
In Spain, hands down the most famous is the rovellon, or saffron milkcap. This particular recipe I made for the Cascade Mycological society’s cookbook. Chickpeas are popular in Spanish cuisine, and gran queso is a famous, slightly salty cheese from the region. Combining the chickpeas and cheese with a little chopped, peeled tomato, and some…
Lactarius Indigo Vinaigrette
I went through a phase where whenever I found Lactarius indigo growing I tried to come up with preparations that would keep their blue color. This is one of the more interesting ones: a blue mushroom vinaigrette. It’s not the type of vinaigrette you’re going to throw on a salad, since you won’t be able…
Bleeding Milkcaps / Lactarius Sanguifluus
From my experience, finding Lactarius that are good for the table is tough. There’s always bugs to compete with, but they just aren’t as reliable as a good old chanterelle, black trumpet, chicken/hen of the woods, or morels where I live. One year I’ll see more than you can pick with a wheelbarrow, then next…