Chanterelle Cake

Here we are again in the midst of foraging season and the weather has been perfect... for mushrooms! Lots of rain = lots of delightful goodies to be found.

I've been finding hordes of Chanterelles over the last few weeks and I decided to hide them in cakes. This was today's recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Chanterelle Cake 

(I can't believe it's not Carrot Cake)

Cake Ingredients:

275g sugar
200g butter, melted
4 medium eggs
300g Chanterelles, grated
Candied lemon and orange peel
225g wholemeal plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp vanilla extract (I make my own by steeping vanilla in rum and it's less concentrated than shop-bought versions, so you may only need 1 tsp)

Topping Ingredients:

125g unsalted butter, melted
125g cream cheese
275g icing sugar
Candied lemon peel to decorate

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C

Grease mini loaf or muffin tin

Mix together the sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs.

Add the grated Chanterelle and candied peel.

Then add the flour and baking powder and mix well.

Fill the loaf/muffin tins about half-full.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer poked in comes out almost clean.

Whisk together the cream cheese and butter.

Add the icing sugar and stir together.

Finally whisk to remove any lumps.

Spread some topping on each (cooled) cake and decorate with candied peel.

Try not to eat them all.

Until next time... Good Foraging.

Porcini Tortelloni

Last year I made pasta with dried chanterelles and mused about a future recipe using dried Porcini. Today, I made Porcini Tortelloni. Tomorrow is the taste test.

All the Porcini I used in this recipe were foraged in Fife; some within walking distance of my house.

For the pasta:

Ingredients:

30g dried porcini
170g '00 grade' flour
2 eggs

Method:

Make pasta dough (see my previous post for details).

For the filling:

Mozzarella Pearls
Bresaola

Porcini Tortelloni:

Cut rounds from the freshly made pasta dough (I used a pint glass, as it's what I had to hand).

Wrap each mozzarella pearl in a small strip of Bresaola (just enough to cover once).

Place a Bresaola Pearl in the centre of each round.

Trace the edge of a round with water and fold into a semi-circular parcel.

Pull the edges together around your thumb to make a tortelloni shape. Check out this post by Emma Christensen for a step-by-step guide.

Repeat process for all other rounds and dust each tortelloni with flour.To cook:

Boil in salted water for 5 minutes or until the tortelloni rise to the surface.

I hope they taste as good as they smell (wonderful)!

Update - they were delicious!! So much so, that I now keep a jar of pre-mixed Porcini pasta flour in my cupboard, so that I can whip up these rascals on a whim :D

Until next time, Good Foraging! :)

Forager's Chicken

Yesterday I took the dog for a walk in Tulliallan woods and neither of us were disappointed. 2 hours later we returned home with a bag of ceps, a bag of chanterelles and big smiles on both of our faces.

I've dried the ceps for a future recipe and I decided to do my own take on Hunter's Chicken (chicken in bbq sauce and cheese) - Forager's Chicken.

For the BBQ Sauce:

300ml tomato ketchup (or a can of passata/tomatoes)
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tablespoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
Freshly ground pepper

Method:

Fry onion until it softens.

Grind mustard seeds and chilli flakes to a powder (or use mustard and chilli powder).

Add powder to onion and fry for a minute or two.

Add all remaining ingredients and bring to the boil.

Reduce to simmer for 90 minutes.

For the Chanterelle sauce:

200g fresh Chanterelles, chopped
Milk
30g Butter
1 heaped tablespoon plain flour
Seasoning

Method:

Fry chanterelles in butter for 5 minutes.

Add flour, stir and cook for 2 minutes.

Add milk a little at a time and stir to combine.

Aim for a white/cheese sauce consistency.

Season to taste, bearing in mind that the bbq sauce will have a kick.

Forager's Chicken:
I adapted this recipe from Amy Jones

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts
5-6 rashers smoked bacon
BBQ Sauce
Chanterelle Sauce
30g cheese - I used mature cheddar as it was what I had, but I think parmesan would work well here.

Method:

Preheat oven to 200°C

Slice a pocket in each chicken breast and place them in an ovenproof dish.

Cover with BBQ sauce and top with bacon.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Top with Chanterelle sauce and grated cheese.

Increase oven temperature to 220°C.

Bake for a further 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Until next time, Good Foraging.

Mini Mushroom Cheesecake Calzone: Sweet Chanterelle Ravioli

Mini Mushroom Cheesecake Calzone in the oven

It's been a mixed week, here in Fife. We've had sun, rain and hail - sometimes all in one day. I have to say that whenever it rains, I just smile and think *that'll make the mushrooms grow*.

This week I found a new Chanterelle patch, less than 20mins walk from my front door. I revisited the patch yesterday and started thinking about what I could make with my haul.

In my last blog I mentioned my dislike for the texture of mushrooms, but I don't think that's the full story. I love finding and picking Chanterelles and my favourite thing about them is their sweet, fruity smell. I think I get confused when I then pair them with garlic, eggs, or other savoury flavours. I want to taste the fruitiness! So, here is my attempt to bring that flavour out:

Mini Mushroom Cheesecake Calzone

Candying Chanterelles with Long Pepper

Candied Chanterelles

Ingredients:

2 cups Chanterelles
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 Long Pepper (Long Pepper is spice which tastes like a blend of cinnamon and black pepper. Raw Chanterelles have a peppery taste, so I thought that Long Pepper would be the perfect accompanying flavour)

Method:

Dice Chanterelles and add all ingredients to a saucepan
Bring to the boil, turning the Chanterelles to ensure they are coated in the syrup
Reduce heat and simmer for 10mins
Leave to cool
Remove Chanterelles with a slotted spoon
Place in oven on lowest setting to dehydrate (I used my trusty dehydrator)
Reserve syrup for dough recipe

Sweet Pasta Dough

Sweet Pasta Dough

Ingredients:
300g 00 Flour
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
4 tbsp Chanterelle syrup

Method:
Place flour in a bowl and make a well in the centre
Add eggs, yolk and syrup and mix in flour gradually with a fork
Work together into a dough
Tip out onto a floured surface and knead for 10mins
Wrap in clingfilm and place in fridge for 30mins+
Roll out with pasta machine or rolling pin until translucent
Cut out circles (approx 3-4" in diameter)

Cheesecake Filling

Ingredients:

400g soft cheese (I used Philadelphia, but I think that Mascarpone would be delicious here)
100g caster sugar
100ml double cream
Grated zest of 2 lemons
Candied Chanterelles

Method:

Whisk together the cheese, cream, sugar, lemon zest until thick and creamy.
Add candied Chanterelles and mix thoroughly.

Calzone

These are really sweet ravioli, but I love Calzone and that is what I was thinking of when I made this recipe. Sweet, sweet Calzone.

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C
Line baking trays with greaseproof paper
Place 1 tsp of filling onto each circle of dough
Fold in half to make little ravioli/calzone/pasties/parcels
Use a fork to seal the edges
Glaze with beaten egg
Place on trays, leaving at least 1" between each calzone
Bake one tray at a time, for 10 mins, or until golden brown
Allow to cool on a rack (again, I used my dehydrator - switched off)

Serve with fruit/cream of your choice.

I will be sampling these tonight and will post an update afterwards.

Calzone chilling

Girolle out the pasta: Chanterelle Tagliatelle

My favourite foraging season is finally here - it's time for Chanterelles! There is nothing more exciting (for me), than walking through woods and spotting the orangey-yellow glint of a Chanterelle in the undergrowth.

I have found a few Chanterelles in woods near Kincardine, but I still like to make my annual pilgrimage to the East Neuk, to pick Chanterelles in Tentsmuir Forest.

As ever, before you pick and eat any wild food, please make sure that you have identified it correctly. I wasted many hours last year in a debate with a 'forager' on twitter, who was celebrating a giant haul of Chanterelles. What he had actually picked were False Chanterelles.

Falsies - or False Friends, as my mum calls them - aren't poisonous, but they neither smell nor taste like the true Chanterelle. Chanterelles smell like apricots and I have previously found them just by sniffing the air and following the scent.

There are many poisonous (often fatally) mushrooms in the UK, so please take care, check and double-check identifying features. If you are in any doubt, then do not eat what you find.

A fact that makes many of my friends laugh, is that I'm not particularly fond of eating mushrooms, despite my joy of foraging them. I do like the flavour of mushrooms, but I'm not keen on the texture. To remedy this, I decided to employ a technique from my last blog post and to use powdered Chanterelles in my recipe:

Chanterelle Tagliatelle

Ingredients

350g fresh Chanterelle - dried and powdered (I use a dehydrator and a coffee grinder) - this produced 30g of powder.
170g '00' Flour
2 eggs

Method

Mix together Chanterelle powder and flour in a bowl
Tip mixture onto a clean surface, make into a mound and make a well in the centre
Crack the eggs into the well and mix with a fork
Gradually mix in the flour until you have a sticky dough
Knead thoroughly for 10mins
Wrap dough in cling film and refridgerate for 1hr+
Work dough through pasta machine or roll out by hand until it is paper-thin
Fold and cut into strips or feed through tagliatelle attachment on pasta machine
Boil in salted water for 3-4mins (al dente)
Serve

I served this with a simple cheese sauce (parmesan and mozzarella mixed with a roux base and milk).

I loved the colour of this pasta and it tasted superb! I will definitely use this technique again, come Porcini season.

Until I write again, Happy Foraging! Xx

St. George's Stroganoff

Today, as I parked my car at work, a few twinkles of white caught my eye, so I went to explore...

There, snuggled and huddled together in the undergrowth, were a family of St. George's mushrooms. The first mushrooms of my 2015 season and what an excellent start to the day!

St George's Mushrooms are so-named because they arrive around St George's Day (23rd April), although I've only ever seen them towards the end of May.

I am still wary about picking gilled mushrooms, because there are many poisonous wild varieties. Gilled mushrooms are the most similar to cultivated mushrooms and are very different (aesthetically) from Chanterelle (vein-like gills), Boletes (pored) and Hedgehogs (toothed).

I had hoped to get out camping this weekend, but the wind is picking up and thunderstorms are forecast. Instead, I got out my campstove and made Mushroom Stroganoff on my patio. At least it was outdoors!

I've enjoyed watching Spring growing around me, and am delighted to see Sweet Cicely appearing, now. I can sense a Sweet Cicely Chicken (perhaps even Chicken-of-the-Woods) concoction on the horizon. Until we meet again, Happy Foraging x

Hedgehog Pâté (v)

Just a quick blog today. I recently went for a wee forage in the woods and came back with an interesting ingredient - Hedgehogs! Oh, stop pulling that face - I mean Hedgehog mushrooms (hedgehog mushrooms have spiny teeth rather than gills).

Hedgehog Mushrooms

Hedgehog Mushroom Pâté

Ingredients:

• 500g Hedgehog mushrooms
• 4 tbsp olive oil (plus extra for coating mushrooms)
• 4 tbsp creme fraiche
• 50g chopped walnuts
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 onion
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 75g Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 tbsp rice wine
• Seasoning 

Method:

• Preheat oven to 190C
• Chop mushrooms and coat in oil and thyme

• Roast mushrooms in oven for 15 mins
• Roast walnuts in oven for 10 mins

• Fry onions and garlic in oil for 10 mins

• Blend walnuts, onions and mushrooms and all remaining ingredients in food processor

• Season to taste
• Allow to set in fridge
• Serve

Porcini Popcorn and Blaeberry Pie

And so here I am again - at the computer, post-foraging/cooking. The recent rainfall and some frantic facebook-inspired mushroom dances have meant that I have been able to forage lots of blaeberries (aka bilberries or whortleberries, depending on where you are from) and some delicious Boletes (the family of mushrooms of which the porcini is part). So here is the outcome of some experimental popcorn-popping and some purple-handed pie-making - enjoy!

Blaeberries

Blaeberry Pie

Ingredients

Filling:

• 4 cups of Blaeberries
• 3/4 cup of sugar (and extra for sprinkling)
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 3 tbsp cornflour
• 3 tbsp water
• 1 tsp mixed spice

Pastry (from first documented forage):

• 500g plain flour
• 100g icing sugar
• 250g cold butter, cut into cubes
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 2 free range eggs - plus extra for egg wash

Method:

1. Make pastry first and let this chill in the fridge - mix flour, sugar and butter to make breadcrumb consistency. Add vanilla and eggs, mix , roll into a ball and flatten.
2. Set oven to 200C.
3. Mix 1 cup of blaeberries with sugar and heat gently until sugar dissolves - stirring as required.
4. Mix cornflour with water and add the heated blaeberries to this, stir and return to heat.
5. Add spice and lemon and heat until sauce thickens (it will look like a purpley-blue version of the sauce on a strawberry tart).
6. Add the rest of the blaeberries and allow to cool.
7. Grease a flan/pie tin.
8. Roll out pastry and use it to line tin - save the offcuts to make a lattice/shaped pattern for the top of the pie.
9. Fill pie base with blaeberry mixture.
10. Top with pastry shapes/lattice and use a pastry brush to egg wash - top with a sprinkling of sugar.
11. Drop oven temperature to 190C and cook pie for 40mins - remove when pastry is golden-brown.
12. Eat and enjoy (don't drop any because it stains!) Now go and look at your tongue in the mirror ;)

Blaeberry Lattice Pie

"Porcini" Popcorn

OK, so I'm slightly cheating at this recipe because I'm using Larch Boletes, Orange Birch Boletes and Bay Boletes, but I haven't found any true porcini yet this season. I will retry this recipe when I find some!

Ingredients:

• 25g dried porcini
• 50g salt
• 25g unsalted butter, melted
• 50g unpopped popcorn
• 2 tbsp oil

Method:

1. Grind porcini in coffee grinder/spice mill - add salt and grind again until powdery.
2. Heat oil in saucepan and add popcorn and get the lid on quick!
3. Heat gently and shoogle the pan every now and again
4. Remove from heat when popping slows
5. Add butter and porcini powder
6. Enjoy?

Porcini Popcorn and Porcini Powder

This recipe turned out quite salty - probably because I didn't use true porcini. I will try it again though!

Until the next forage - happy eating!