Late spring and early summer marks the beginning of the mushroom foraging season.
Morels, the earliest to be found, usually start showing up in May or June. And then as the summer progresses more varieties become available right through until fall. Morels, chanterelles, matsutake and porcini are the most popular wild mushrooms.
Cultivated mushrooms are available year round with the most common being white button, cremini, portobello, enoki, shiitake and oyster.
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There are differing opinions on how to clean mushrooms, but I like to wash them. I soak morels because they can often have worms inside the cavity. I quickly wash other mushrooms under cold running water and rub off any growing medium. Then I lay them out to dry.
Wild mushrooms should always be cooked before eating, even if they have been dried and reconstituted.
Reconstitute dried mushrooms by soaking in hot water for 20 or 30 minutes. The resulting broth is also richly flavoured and should be used.
Cultivated button and cremini mushrooms may be sliced raw into salads and added to vegetable platters. Button and creminis are also the mildest of the mushrooms and the most popular.
Mushrooms can be frozen, but they are better if they are cooked first. However, fresh and dried mushrooms are the most commonly used. Wild mushrooms with a more pronounced flavour, such as porcini or truffle, can often be found as a powder.
Any cooking method works with mushrooms: grilling, roasting, steaming or sauteing. Add them to stocks. Make a compound butter for steak. Add to a pilaf or cook them with seafood.
Stuffed mushrooms
- These are best when warm, so make them right before they’re served.
- 1/4 c. seasoned panko bread crumbs 60 mL
- 1 c. grated pecorino cheese 250 mL
- 1/4 c. finely chopped parsley 60 mL
- 1/4 c. chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes 60 mL
- mushroom stems, chopped
- minced garlic
- 3 tbsp. pine nuts 45 mL
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt, plus more for sprinkling .5 mL
- freshly ground black pepper
- 20-24 large cremini mushrooms, stemmed
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Saute chopped mushroom stems in a small amount of cooking oil until tender.
- In a medium bowl, combine the mushroom stems, panko, pecorino cheese, parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, garlic, salt and several grinds of pepper.
- Place the mushroom caps, cavity side up, onto the baking sheet. Drizzle the mushrooms with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Spoon the filling into the mushrooms, drizzle with more olive oil and bake until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is golden brown, 18 to 22 minutes.
- Garnish with parsley and sprinkle with red pepper flakes, if desired. Season to taste and serve.
Creamy tomato and mushroom sauce with fish
- The little bit of butter in this recipe mellows out the acidity of the tomatoes. Do not substitute milk for the cream because the tomatoes will make it curdle.
- 1 slice bacon, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 c. mushrooms, sliced 250 mL
- 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, not drained 796 mL
- 1/4 c. heavy cream 60 mL
- 1 tbsp. butter 15 mL
- salt and pepper
- 1 lb. solid white fish, such as cod, lingcod, northern pike 500 g
- Saute bacon until the fat has been rendered. Remove bacon bits from the pan and add onion to the remaining fat. Saute until translucent and then add mushrooms. Saute until the mushrooms are tender and have released their liquid. Continue to cook until the pan is almost dry. Add tomatoes and cream. Bring to a simmer. Add butter and stir to melt.
- Nestle fish pieces in a greased baking dish and pour the sauce over.
- Bake at 350 F (180 C) for about 40 minutes, until fish is fully cooked and the sauce is very bubbly. Serve immediately.
Mushroom lasagna with parmesan béchamel
- 1/4 c. salted butter 60 mL
- 1/4 c. all-purpose flour 60 mL
- 4 c. whole milk 1 L
- 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes 5 mL
- salt and pepper
- 2 c. finely grated parmesan cheese, divided 500 mL
- 1/2 c. packed chopped fresh Italian parsley 125 mL
- 12 fresh lasagna noodles
- 1/4 c. chopped parsley, for sprinkling over the top of the lasagna 60 mL
- 1 recipe mushroom ragu, recipe follows
- Make the bechamel by adding butter to a large sauce pan and set it over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add flour, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook two minutes.
- Add milk very gradually while continuing to whisk constantly. Add red pepper flakes and bring sauce to a simmer. Cook over medium-low heat until the bechamel is thickened. Remove from heat and stir in one cup (250 mL) grated parmesan. Stir until cheese is melted.
- Stir fresh parsley and mushroom ragù into the béchamel. Add salt and pepper to taste and then cover and set aside.
- Make the lasagna by spreading a thin layer of the bechamel mixture over the bottom of the baking dish. Place a layer of noodles evenly over the sauce. Spread one-third of the bechamel mixture over the noodles and top with one-third of the cheese.
- Add another layer of noodles, one-third of the bechamel mixture and one-third of the cheese.
- Lay remaining noodles over and spread with remaining bechamel mixture and remaining cheese.
- Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another five to 10 minutes, until the cheese across the top of the lasagna is melted and the sauce is bubbling around the edges of the pan.
- Remove the lasagna from the oven and let stand for five to 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Sprinkle with more fresh parsley before serving.
Mushroom ragù
- 1 oz. dried mushrooms 40 g
- 1 lb. white button, cremini or portobello mushrooms 500 g
- 1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil 75 mL
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp. chicken bouillon concentrate 15 mL
- 1/2 c. diced shallot or yellow onion 125 mL
- 1 tbsp. tomato paste 15 mL
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp. sumac or lemon zest 15 mL
- 2 tsp. ground cumin 10 mL
- 1/2 – 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, to taste 2-5 mL
- Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl and pour one cup boiling water over them. Let the mushrooms soak for 30 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Clean the fresh mushrooms and then thinly slice them. Saute with one-third cup (75 mL) of olive oil until all their liquid has been released and evaporated.
- Strain and squeeze dried mushrooms dry, chop finely and add to the pan of cooked mushrooms. Set soaking liquid aside to use later. Add finely diced shallots and cook until translucent, three to five minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, minced garlic, sumac, cumin, crushed red pepper flakes and ground black pepper to the pan. Cook, stirring constantly, for about one minute longer to open up the flavour of the spices.
- Add the reserved mushroom soaking liquid to the pan. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid has reduced by a little more than half. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if you like.
Sarah Galvin is a home economist, teacher and avid supporter of local food producers. She has been a market vendor, grew up on a farm in southeastern Saskatchewan and is a member of TEAM Resources.
