Posts tagged wild mushrooms
Vincent and his “lait ribot” – Wild mushrooms, rutabagas quiche with farmer’s cheese and buttermilk
Mar 4th
Vincent et son lait Ribot – Quiche aux champignons sauvages, rutabagas, fromage frais et lait ribot
I made this post, essentially for Vincent (oui rien que pour toi!), our dear friend from Bretagne (Brittany) and originally from a small town of Malestroit who introduced me to lait ribot very recently. I had no idea what lait ribot was before that night. He was making something très Breton, like crunchy buckwheat galettes soaked in lait ribot, and I was so skeptical and curious at the same time. I thought “Lait quoi??” “lait ribot? c’est quoi ca?” (lait ribot, what’s that?). He said, “c’est breton, en Bretagne ca se mange comme ca”. So let’s eat it the Breton way!
When I tasted it, I loved it. It was love at first bite! Lait Ribot is a specialty milk from Bretagne, that’s why I never heard of it (in France, outside of Bretagne, it’s almost impossible to find) and is wildly used there to make crêpes, galettes and so many other dishes but it’s also consumed as a refreshing drink. It’s basically a fermented milk that you get after the fabrication of the butter (in French you can also call it petit lait, or babeurre, literally meaning beating the butter, or beated milk) and its consumption is retraced back to the Gauls! Every country has its own version of fermented milk, and in the US it’s called buttermilk.
If it was not for Vincent, I would not have bought buttermilk…so I owe him this one.
Call me ignorant but I had no idea lait Ribot was similar to buttermilk. I had no idea about the existence of lait ribot, and I had no idea what buttermilk was either. So pardon my ignorance…Usually when I see the word “butter” on a bottle, I don’t bother. I stay away from butter.
After drinking lait ribot and thinking about its use, I decided to try it in a quiche and substitute it to cream which would probably make the quiche less rich and of course lighter.
I made an olive oil wholewheat crust instead of a traditional pâte brisée which gave the quiche a wholesome and hearty flavor and texture. I usually love root vegetables with wild mushrooms, they complement each other very well.
The farmer’s cheese comes from my Greek grocery store, Taki the owner sells the most unique and unexpected products, this cheese looks similar to ricotta but is not salty, more tangy and lighter in calories. So needless to say that this quiche is very light…and so delicious! Ils sont forts ces bretons!
MERCI VINCENT!
Ingredients for 6 people
For the crust
- 4.23 oz (or 110 g) wholewheat flour
- water
- 4 tbs olive oil
- salt
For the filling
- 1 large shallot, chopped
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 lb mixed wild mushrooms such as chanterelles, shiitake, oyster’s mushrooms, etc…
- 4 medium size rutabagas
- 5 large tbs farmer’s cheese (or ricotta)
- 1 tbs mixed herbs (chives, parsley, thyme, etc…)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 eggs
- 1 2/3 cups buttermilk
- 3 tbs Gruyère cheese, grated
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the crust
Place flour in a mixing container, add olive oil, water and salt and mix to form an homogeneous dough. Add enough water to allow the dough to form a ball, non sticky and smooth.
For the filling
Wash rutabagas and peel them. Boil them in water until tender. Cut in 8 mm slices crosswise. Set aside.
Clean and wash the mushrooms, Cut them in medium size pieces. Heat olive oil in a pan, add shallots and brown them. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook until the water evaporates. Set aside.
In a bowl, mix farmer’s cheese with herbs, salt and pepper using a fork.
Roll the dough and place in a non stick round tart pan. Spread the cheese mixture on the bottom. Add a layer of rutabagas on top of the cheese, then mushrooms.
In another mixing container, beat eggs and buttermilk, salt and pepper. Pour on top of the vegetable mixture. Sprinkle with gruyère cheese and cook in the oven for about 35-40 min at 370F or until the top is golden. Serve hot with an endive salad.
A cure for migraine – Creamy herb polenta with sauté wild mushrooms and hot tomato coulis
Jun 22nd
Per curare l’emicrania – Polenta con parmigiano e rosmarino – funghi selvatici e passata piccante di pomodoro
After a gloomy weekend with a terrible migraine, that immobilized me for few days in bed, I decided that I wanted to start the week as best as I could, and of course, when you cannot eat for a few days, the day you are back on your feet, you are starving. The great thing is that my fridge was filled with lots of various ingredients, so I had everything to make this delightful and vegetarian dish…without going to the store.
Polenta is quite a popular meal in Northern Italy, and they consume it as the French eat baguette. They grow lots of corn and they eat what they grow…so polenta is often on the table, and I have seen mainly the white kind, it’s thick, sliced like bread, and eaten as accompaniment to many cold cuts and radicchio (that’s the way I have eaten it at our friend’s place in Friuli). In Lombardia region (Milan), they eat it boiled with milk and at my parents, it’s prepared with a tomato and rabbit sauce, so to each region its own. No matter how you prepare it, polenta is always a delicious and nutritious meal to enjoy.
For this dish, you need as many different kinds of wild mushrooms as you can…I used morels, chanterelles, king oyster, beech mushrooms and shiitake, they bring a wonderful woodsy and nutty aroma to the fragrant polenta infused in rosemary broth. The polenta remains creamy and soft especially if you add mascarpone, and blends perfectly well with the crunchy texture of the mushrooms and smooth tomato coulis. The whole dish is a harmonious balance of sensations.
For the polenta, I used the fine grind, the coarse grind remains too grainy and is less delicate at the bite. Also, there are two kinds of polenta, the express one and the regular one. I always keep both in my pantry and depending on the time I have, I use either one. Polenta express cooks in 10 minutes whereas the regular one takes over one hour. Usually to make polenta crostini I use the express one, but for polenta-based dishes like this one, I use regular polenta.
Ingredients for 2-3
For the polenta
- 1/2 lb (or 200-250 g) fine polenta
- 1 tbs rosemary, chopped
- 2 tbs fresh parmigiano reggiano, grated
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tbs mascarpone (optional)
For the sauté mushrooms
- 1/2 lb mixed wild mushrooms such as morels, king oyster, beech, chanterelles, shiitake, etc… mushrooms, washed and roughly cut
- 1 shallot, diced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 3 tbs dry white wine
- 2 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
For the tomato coulis
- 3 large ripe tomatoes, seedless and peeled
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp oregano, chopped
- cayenne pepper
- 1 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the polenta
Bring broth to a boil, add rosemary, then add polenta gradually, stir and keep stirring until the polenta is cooked and has reached a semi-thick texture. Cooking time depends on which type of polenta you use. When the polenta is cooked, add parmesan and stir well. Add mascarpone at this time of process if you decide you want to add it.
For the mushrooms
Wash mushrooms. Pat them dry to remove excess water, and cut oyster king and morels (if too big) into about one inch pieces. Heat olive oil in a pan, then add shallots. Brown shallots and add mushrooms. Saute mushrooms and cook until the water is half evaporated then add wine salt and pepper. Stir well, let the wine reduce then add garlic. Cook for a few minutes, then remove from heat and keep warm.
For the tomato coulis
Heat olive oil in a pan, add garlic and stir to get the flavor out. Add oregano, tomatoes, cayenne, salt and pepper. Stir well and cook until the tomatoes have reduced. Mix the tomatoes using an immersion blender, then pass it through a sieve to obtain a smooth coulis.
Serve soft polenta in the center of the plate, place mushrooms around it, and end with tomato coulis.
Little time and a big hunger – Malloredus pasta with wild mushroom ragù
Oct 6th
Poco tempo e tanta fame – Malloredus con sugo ai funghi di bosco
When you have no time for cooking, this would be a dish to consider…of course if you have some wild mushrooms handy, even better. I had those beautiful yellow chanterelles and oyster mushrooms in my refrigerator with so many ideas on what to make with them, the only problem was the time. Today I didn’t have any for cooking elaborated dish, so I decided to make pasta, but not regular pasta, Malloredus. Malloredus are also called Sardinian gnocchi and are the most traditional pasta in Sardinia; its origin is traced back to Antiquity. You can make them by hand, and again if you have no time like me today, you can always have some handy at home (I always keep a bag in case I have some cravings for them)… and if you have an Italian grocery store close by, I’m sure you’ll find Malloredus. They are cute, and look like little worms or shells (yes a little worm can be cute). The particularity of Malloredus is that the remain crunchy, much more al dente that other pasta (and for me the more al dente, the better).
I usually use pancetta in the ragù, if you want to keep vegetarian, just don’t add it. Also, you need to use either canned Italian plum tomatoes, San Marziano fresh tomatoes, or really sweet organic plum and ripe tomatoes, or even heirloom otherwise your ragù might be too acid.
Fall is here, and fall is all about wild mushrooms. In my family, it is a BIG deal. Every year at this time, my dad goes mushroom picking, mainly porcini, but other kinds as well. Last year I was there around this time, and every morning, he would get up at 5 am, come back at 11 am with kilos of porcini. In about 3 weeks, he brought home about 70 kg of porcini (140 lb) can you imagine? My mom and I spent days cleaning them, and storing them (preserves, frozen, drying, etc…) at one point, I could not stand them any longer. We were just wondering between ourselves when he would stop bringing them home. I had porcini nightmares. Needless to say my parents house is filled with porcini. My dad used to go find truffles too, and had a dog trained for that purpose, now the dog ran away, so no more truffles! He grew up in Italy doing that, so he kept his hobbies all his life.
I remember one year, I was living in Boston and my parents came to visit us…it was their first trip to America. We took them to the New England countryside, and we ended up in Maine, there were beautiful mansions close by and a nice green field, so my dad had his mushroom radar out, and obviously saw some eatable mushrooms in between the grass, he was so excited. Happily, he started picking those mushroom to make a frittata in the evening. All of the sudden, we heard a voice coming from behind telling him “Hey dude, you won’t get high with those!”, seems like those guys thought we were looking for the hallucinogen ones. We were speechless (my parents didn’t speak English so they could care less), but I didn’t know what to respond since I was not expecting that, so we just nodded and smiled. Macche’ high!! io mi mangio la frittata stasera!
In France and Italy, it’s a very common thing to go mushroom picking, I used to go too but not getting up at 5 am. There are so many wonderful wild mushrooms (don’t know right names in English) and if you have doubts about them being comestible, (some of them can be mistaken for poisonous ones like the very well known Amanite Phalloide), you can always go to the pharmacy to have them checked. Pharmacies do that.
Ingredients for 4
- 300 g Malloredus pasta
- 1 lb mixed wild mushrooms such as chanterelles, girolles, porcini, etc…
- 2 cups Italian plum tomatoes, or 4 heirloom tomatoes, or San Marziano (put through a food processor)
- 3 tbs pancetta, chopped (optional)
- 2 tbs parsley
- 2 garlic cloves
- a pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
- Parmigiano Reggiano
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbs olive oil
Preparation
Was mushrooms thoroughly, pat dry and cut in pieces. Sauté them in olive oil. When browned remove from pan and set aside.
In the same pan, add pancetta, stir for a little while, then add garlic and parsley. Stir well to get the flavors out but make sure not to burn the garlic. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook until the sauce reduces for about 20 minutes or more. Add mushrooms and cook for another 10 minutes. (If using dried porcini, you can use the water and add it to the tomato sauce and let it cook).
Cook Malloredus like regular pasta until desired consistency. Top with tomato ragu and sprinkle with parmigiano and a little of olive oil.
Can I have some polenta please? – Rosemary and parmesan polenta crostoni with spicy wild mushrooms and pancetta ragù
Aug 4th
Mi dai un pò di polenta per favore? – Crostoni di polenta al rosmarino e parmigiano con ragu piccante di funghi e pancetta – cavolo in padella
I have been wanting to make polenta for months now, I had this bag of polenta in my pantry, but did not have the other ingredients I needed to make what I had in mind, so I kept waiting.
Polenta has been a big part of my life, my mom used to make a huge quantity of polenta, spread it on a large wooden surface and served it with a rabbit and tomato sauce. Everyone would take a spoon and eat it from the wooden board.
Polenta prepared in Northern Italy like Lombardia or Friuli is white, it’s served sliced with prosciutto and radicchio. Basically, it replaces the bread in some households. Actually, In Milano, they cook it with milk, and top it with a mushroom sauce, more like a gravy. That is the way I ate it at my childhood friend whose parents were from Milano. I was used to the yellow polenta served with a mushroom, or rabbit tomato sauce. Two different way to prepare it.
Anyway, I found the most interesting mushrooms at the Berkeley Bowl yesterday, and I was so curious about those tiny but still chunky-legged mushrooms, that I just had to buy them. Trying new ingredients gives me some adrenaline rush, and for the particular purpose, that store is perfect.
To be really honest, I am unable to tell you the exact name of those mushrooms, the hand-written sign was unreadable, and I did some research on the web to try to find out their names and I am uncertain of what they’re called. I believe they’re shimeji. Some kind of Japanese mushroom, that has the shape of porcini mushroom but a smaller size. A Heavy stem and a small cap. It has a great flavor and I really liked the mixed flavors of those three different mushrooms.
Going back to polenta, you can buy the pre-cooked or the regular polenta that needs to cook slowly for an hour on medium or even slow heat, so if your wrist is not trained, since you have to stir for the entire hour, you will get a sore wrist and arm. If you are new to polenta and don’t have too much time for preparation and cooking, the pre-cooked kind would work fine. Unfortunately, I only had the regular one, so I had no choice than go the traditional way.
Big polenta eaters like in Friuli, have a special pot with a mechanical arm that stirs the polenta, so you just have to sit and wait.
You might not see it on the picture, but those crostoni have been carved in the middle so you can stuff them with the mushroom sauce.
Ingredients for 4
For the polenta
- about 4 oz. pre cooked or regular polenta
- 1 tbs rosemary, chopped
- 1 tbs parmigiano reggiano, grated
- 3 cups broth
- salt
For the mushroom sauce
- 4 slices pancetta, chopped + 4 slices whole (for decoration)
- 5 well riped tomatoes, chopped seedless
- 1 cup small shitakee, some sliced, some whole
- 1 cup oyster mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup shimeji mushrooms
- 1 shallot
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbs parsley
- chili flakes to your taste
- 2 tbs olive oil
For the cabbage
- 1/2 cabbage, shredded
- 1/4 yellow onion chopped
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
First start preparing the polenta. Bring broth to a boil, add salt. Add rosemary, then pour polenta. Stir non stop and cook at very low heat, add water if necessary. If using regular polenta, it needs to cook for at least 40 minutes, always stirring. If using pre-cooked polenta, cook for about 7-10 minutes, and keep stirring. Add Parmesan.
When the polenta is cooked pour in a small deep dish so that the polenta has a thickness of about 1.5 inch. Let it cool. When cooled, with cut circles of about 2.5 inches in diameter. With a teaspoon, remove some of the center of each polenta circle. Drizzle with some olive oil, and brown under broiler for about 5 minutes or until the top of the polenta is golden brown. This broiling part needs to be done at the end, when the tomato sauce and cabbage are almost cooked, or the polenta will get cold.
For the mushroom sauce
Heat olive oil in a pan, add mushrooms. Cook at medium heat, until the water has evaporated, add salt and pepper. Remove from pan and set aside.
In the same pan, add olive oil, add shallot, let it brown. Add chopped pancetta, and brown the mixture. Add garlic and parsley, stir well to get the flavors out, add tomatoes and chili flakes. Cook until the sauce has reduced but do not reduce too much, there needs to be some tomato juice left. Add mushrooms and adjust with salt and pepper.
For the cabbage
Heat olive oil in a deep pot, add onion, and brown it, add cabbage, stir and add wine, salt and pepper. Cover and cook at medium heat until the cabbage is cooked.
Grill whole pancetta slices in a non stick pan.
Serve in a plate with 2 tbs of cabbage on bottom, add polenta crostoni on top. Fill the center of polenta with mushroom sauce. Add 1 grilled pancetta slice on top. Decorate with whole shitakee around the plate.
