Roasted Chanterelles

Today a friend gave me a bag of Chanterelles her husband had recently hunted. A bag, as in a big brown grocery bag! How lucky am I?! I graciously whisked them home, after sending a quick gloat-photo to my husband and sister.

Before today, I had never eaten chanterelles, but also had never eaten a mushroom I didn't enjoy. I was eager to make something, anything, knowing it would be easy and delicious.

When I got home, I spread the mushrooms out on the counter to ogle them. They looked harmless enough, and my friend had assured me they were safe as well. I nevertheless did a little research myself. Apparently, the golden chanterelle is Oregon's state mushroom and grows quite prolific in the Pacific Northwest, especially the coast range. Many mushroom hunters keep their picking grounds secret, which is ironic as it seems these mushrooms grow everywhere around here. Even our little property has a supposed cache of delicious fungus somewhere on it. When we were in the first stages of buying the plot, we would often meet one of our neighbors walking on the road, an elderly man from Poland, as he returned from his mushroom hunts in our backyard. He lamented politely the loss of his mushroom spot when we started building. All the trees (i.e., mushroom habitats) still stand behind our house. I think next time I see our neighbor, I should offer to split the profits, in exchange for his foraging knowledge.

The golden chanterelle does have a poisonous lookalike, Omphalotus olivascens, commonly known as the Western Jack O'Lantern mushroom, whose the gills are rumored to actually glow in the dark! Once I made double sure my bag was actual chanterelles, and I wasn't going to murder my family at dinner tonight, I began my recipe search and preparation.

The mushrooms were pretty dirty, with tons of fir needles and leaves amidst them. In my mind, this made them even cooler. Actual wild mushrooms! I brushed them off with my mushroom brush under running water and then spun them dry in my salad spinner.

The recipe I chose came from Sunset magazine, a simple roasted mushroom mix. Toss sliced chanterelles, shallots, and thyme sprigs with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast it all for 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees. Couldn't be easier. I added some red onions, because I love roasted onions.

The chanterelles released much of their juices during the roasting, leaving them tender and buttery. It really was delicious.

I still have a good pound remaining of chanterelles and I already have tomorrow's recipe picked out: Chanterelle Risotto! What a wonderful gift to receive. My taste buds couldn't be more grateful!

Anybody want to become a mushroom hunter with me? :)