Mushrooms

[Kupcake]

Saw some huge woody looking mushrooms today in Stockmans for 27euros a kilo. Can anybody tell me what they're called and how you usually cook them?

Thank you kindly

[EP]

What is "woody looking"? Is it this: http://images.google.fi/images?hl=fi&q= ... uvia&gbv=1

[Kupcake]

Yep, that's it. Sorry, my bad description.

[EP]

You can use those for just about everything: sauces, soups, pies, barbecue them, and so on.

Chop some onions and mushrooms, and fry them in butter. Splash on some cream, a little salt, pepper, and chevril (the best mushroom herb) and let it simmer. You have a sauce for pasta/fish/chicken/meat.

There are tons of recipes, but that was the simple all-over mushroom sauce recipe.

[Kupcake]

Beautiful!! Thanks

Just one more thing - where do you get chevril and how does it read in Finnish?

[sammy]

I think cervil is KIRVELI in Finnish... (?) I haven't used it for a while but seem to remember that it might be available "fresh" in some supermarkets etc... dried might be easier to find.

Mind you, the mushrooms are the kind of Porcini mushrooms that make a lovely addition to a risotto. You can also dry them, and use later on (for risotto ) Type "risotto con porcini" into Google, you should find the recipe easy enough. But when they are freshly picked, you could just clean and slice them, and fry them in oil/butter. Add some salt - and voilà.

[Kupcake]

YUM!!!! I'm getting some tomorrow!!

Do they stay at that price or does the price come down later in the season?

[sinikala]

As well as Porcini (Italian) you will also find recipes with the French name Cep.

In English it's usually referred to by the French or Italian names, even though the traditional English name is the Penny Bun.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mosto ... ooms.shtml

Also, they are the one mushroom which certain flies love to lay their eggs on, so they often have maggots inside, you should slice and inspect them carefully, especially if you see small holes on the stems. I know Italians don't bother doing this ... yuk.

[EP]

Do they stay at that price or does the price come down later in the season?

No, the price is what it is. This year is not a good year for those particular mushrooms. There is a lot less of them than usually. And nobody knows why. But you can always try to find them from a forest, then they cost nothing.

Instead there are a lot of chantarelles. Last weekend I found a BIG basketfull in less than half an hour. Makes about ten soups.

[Rosamunda]

I didn't find many chanterelles last weekend only elk flies. But now we have moved back to town I guess the locals strip our patch during the week The big yellow chanterelles will be over soon but the smaller dark brown / black ones should start sprouting. Some years I have filled buckets with those They dry really easily (just leave them in a sunny place for a few days) then you can use them all year.

Those ceps are delicious though. And you don't need too many to make a small meal.

[sinikala]

No, the price is what it is. This year is not a good year for those particular mushrooms. There is a lot less of them than usually. And nobody knows why. But you can always try to find them from a forest, then they cost nothing.

Instead there are a lot of chantarelles. Last weekend I found a BIG basketfull in less than half an hour. Makes about ten soups.

There were dozens of what I think are koivunherkkutatti outside of my office window, I saw an oriental looking woman out with a basket, but this is far too close to an industrial area to actually eat them.

[Kupcake]

Can i ask - do you cook the stems of the herkkutatti too or just the caps?

[sammy]

Can i ask - do you cook the stems of the herkkutatti too or just the caps?

You can slice and use the whole mushroom - however, if the undersection of the cap (where the spores are) looks dodgy, ie. yellowish-green, but the mushroom is otherwise ok, it's best to cut that part away.