Sauteed Chanterelle Mushrooms

Ingredients

• • Cup of chanterelle mushrooms chopped into large bit size pieces

  • One clove of garlic

  • Half teaspoon of fresh thyme

  • Olive oil

  • Butter

  • Lemon Juice (optional)

  • Salt and pepper

Recipe Overview & Keys to Success

I like to cook my chanterelle mushrooms to “well done”, where just about all the water in them is fully cooked out and they take on a chewy, “meaty” texture.  If you use high heat and let the chanterelles go long enough, they get nice crispy edges, almost like a chip.

For this dish there’s just a few things to remember.  First it’s important to cut the mushrooms into fairly large pieces as they shrink a lot when cooked; and as you cook them, don’t fiddle with them too much.  Let the chanterelles sear on each side and get nice browned all over.  Finally, anytime you cook with garlic, you want to make sure not to burn it, so add it late in the process, just a few minutes before you’re ready to take the mushrooms off.

Dice the mushrooms

• • Cut the chanterelle mushrooms into 1 – 2 inch pieces; you can watch how I chop mushrooms in this video.

  • Remove any obvious pieces of dirt or debris, but don’t wash them in water, as that can water log the mushrooms

Cooking the chanterelle mushrooms

• • Heat a frying pan and add a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter

  • Add the mushrooms, a couple pinches of salt and pepper and toss to coat

  • NOTE: Mushrooms have a tendency to suck up olive oil.  If at any point the bottom of the pan looks dry, add some additional oil.

  • Let the chanterelles sear on one side, over medium heat (don’t move them around too much) until they are browned (about 10 minutes), then toss the mushrooms in the pan to expose the other side to the heat.

  • Let them continue to brown and notice in the video how dark I let them get.  Eventually they will give up most of their water and be about half the size that you started with.  The edges should be crispy and the texture firm.

  • Add a clove of minced garlic and the fresh thyme leaves and let them cook for a few minutes until the garlic has softened, but not burned

  • If I’m serving as a side, I like to hit the mushrooms with a touch of lemon juice or vinegar at the end for a little acidity

  • Taste and re-adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed

from noreciperequired.com