Fungal Fun

Many of you know me as wine educator and tour guide here at Michel-Schlumberger but what you may not know is that I am an amateur mycologist of twenty seven years.  Every fall I go out into the woods and collect mushrooms for study and consumption as well as lead forays for those new to the world of fungi.

This year is no exception.

With the first rain my fellow wine educator Evan Erickson and I headed out towards the coast for a long day of hunting and Mother Nature did not disappoint us. Within the first few hours we had collected a plethora of tasty little gems including Boletus Edulis (Porcini), Oyster mushrooms Pleurotus Ostreatus and a few Boletus Regius (Red capped butter boletes).  At another favorite spot we found some chanterelles that someone else had discarded! And a few Italian favorites, the Coccora mushroom, Amanita Calyptrata along with some very nice coral mushrooms.

And of course no day would be complete without a run in with law!  A very pleasant park ranger helped us find our way off some private land. 

Next we headed home to dry our quarry in food dehydrators. This concentrates the flavor of the Boletes as well as many other mushrooms. Once dried the mushrooms can be stored for cooking in the coming months. A favorite dish of mine for the Porcini is Risotto Milanese con fungi. As with all of my cooking I don’t use recipes but I will try to explain how it is cooked and hopefully you will refine it as you cook it for your friends. It’s pretty simple:

First take a handful of dried Porcini and re-hydrate them in a bowl of Michel-Schlumberger Masion Rouge.  I tend to use a lot of mushrooms but you can adjust the amount to your liking.  Set the mushrooms aside for now, you will add them much later.  In a large cast iron skillet sauté one chopped onion in un-salted butter until the onion is soft and golden.  Next raise the temperature to high and add Arborio Rizzo (Italian rice) around a coffee cup full will do the trick.  Add a pinch or two of saffron stirring constantly to avoid burning the rice.  After a few minutes of searing the rice (Don’t burn it!) add about a cup of red wine, again, preferably Michel-Schlumberger Maison Rouge.  The wine will steam off rather fast leaving the deep red orange rice in the pan.  Turn the burner back down to medium and begin to add broth of your choosing.  I use beef broth but have used vegetable broth as well and had great results.  The broth should be pre-warmed on the stove before hand and it’s best to put in a few ladles at a time. The idea is to slow cook the liquid into the rice. If it begins to boil aggressively you will need to turn it down.

The key to a great risotto is slowly cooking it constantly stirring and I mean constantly stirring it and continually adding more liquid as it absorbs into the rice.  I always make sure that I have plenty of broth (4 or 5 cans) on the stove.  As the risotto begins to thicken you can add the porcini either whole or chopped as well as the reserved wine they were hydrating in.

The whole process should take around 45 minutes.  If you find it taking less time you will end up with watery risotto and chewy rice.  Add salt as desired. I tend to not add any salt being the broth will provide plenty and I top the dish with a Parmesano Reggiano or padano cheese, which will contribute to the salt content as well. 

All that’s left to do is serve the risotto up on warmed plates and open another bottle of the Masion Rouge for you and your guests!

I hope this will peek your interest in our friends on forest floor as well as tickle your tummy on a cold winter day.  Remember to only pick wild mushrooms armed with a basic knowledge of what it is you are foraging for. The holy grail of mushroom identification is David Aurora’s ‘Mushrooms Demystified’, as well as, ‘All the Rain Promises and More’. Never eat any wild mushroom that you are not 100 percent sure of it’s identification. There are many local mycological clubs throughout the country that can assist you with identification, classes, and guided forays. Enjoy!

Tagged as: Dry Creek Valley, foraging, Fungi, Michel Schlumberger, mycology