Wild Mushrooms and bechamelle sauce

This is a great way to showcase often costly, precious and gorgeous gourmet wild mushrooms, delicious on gnocchi, polenta, pasta of all sorts, mashed potatoes or just scooping it up and eating by themselves. On a pinch the regular button mushrooms (champignon) can be used, but a splurge on more exotic shrooms will be highly worth it. Frozen ones can be used too.
(Above picture shows my latest effort with chanterelle, served over strangolapreti)

Ingredients:
About 500g of roughly shredded wild mushrooms (porcini, chanterelle, or mixture), or more as desired.
3-4 shallots, finely shredded (or 1 small onion)
2 garlic cloves, smashed or chopped
2 tbsp butter
about 10 leaves of fresh sage, chopped
dash of salt and pepper
250ml bechamelle
milk, as needed

Sautè the shrooms, shallots(onion), garlic and sage in butter on medium heat, until they are completely softened and the liquid from the veg evaporates, about 15-20 minutes.
While cooking add a dash of salt and pepper. (I go very generous on pepper)
Add the bechamelle, stir it to blend it in. If the bechamelle is too thick add a small amount of milk to thin it slightly.
Heat it through.
Enjoy with your choice of treat (pasta, polenta etc.), or without!!

Grilled Canaderli with Chanterelle mushroom sauce

Canaderli (also called Knodeln in German) is a traditional Tyrolian dish, very tasty dumplings based on bread chunks. Traditionally they are boiled and served in a broth, however I found this new idea in Cucina Italiana magazine a few months back, which quite appealed to me. I added a newly invented sauce with Chanterelle mushrooms, another alpine specialty, which came out a smashing success! Chanterelle mushrooms can be very hard to find, you can also substitute with Porcini (fresh, frozen or dry) or another type of aromatic mushrooms.

Grilled canaderli
for 6(super size)-8(smallish) canaderli

160g day old bread, semi dry, cut into small cubes
120ml milk
2 shallots, finely chopped
2-3 slices of speck, finely shredded
30g of grated trentingrana (or grana padano, or parmigiano reggiano)
handful of parsley
1 egg
pepper

-cook the chopped shallots in butter, until they are tender.
-soak the bread cubes in milk, mix well to coat each pieces evenly, and let it stand for half an hour, remixing occasionally.
-add everything else to the bread, mix thoroughly and knead well.
-make 6-8 patties in hamburger-like shape. (don't worry if they are quite soft, they will solidify as they are grilled)
-spread a thin layer of olive oil on a hot plate, and pre-heat.
-when the hot plate is hot, place the patties, cook until it takes on the "grilled" colour* (4-5minutes on each side)
*if they are too limp or sticky to flip, let them cook further until the bottom side is solid and

easily slide on the surface.

Mushroom sauce
500g roughly chopped/stripped chanterelle or porcini mushrooms**
1 small onion, chopped
1tbsp butter
25g powdered fondo bruno mix (msg-free version is recommended), or enough for 300ml of liquid according to the package instruction***
200ml white wine
200ml water
1 bayleaf
150ml bechamelle
**or as little or as much as you like... I can never get enough of shrooms I tend to use even more...
***if you have real fondo bruno in stock, please do use it instead of the mix, naturally...


-sautè the onion and mushrooms in butter, until onions are tender, about 10 minutes.
-stir the fondo bruno mix in the water, mix well.
-Add the fondo bruno liquid, wine and bayleaf into the onion/mushroom mixture. Bring to a boil and let it simmer, until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
-Stir in the bechamelle, mix thoroughly and keep on cooking until the sauce is completely blended, another few minutes.

Savoury Mushroom-Cheese Strudel

I improvised this recipe the other day when I defrosted a sheet of puff pastry meaning to make a quiche, then realizing too late I only had 1 egg left. :-( Thank god puff pastry is so versatile, and I jumped on the opportunity to use up some left over mushrooms and brie still left in the fridge. This turned out to be a yummy hit, and it will surely turn into a proper repartoire when an occasion calls for a quick snack or a hors d'oeuvres!!


Savoury mushroom-cheese strudel

Ingredients
250g mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
2 slices of speck or english style bacon (optional)
dash of herbs provençal
butter, just enough to sautè the above items
1/2 tsp granulated (powdered) vegetable bouillon
dash of pepper
150g brie, chopped (or your choice of cheese)
generous handful of parsley, chopped
1 sheet of puff pastry (about 300g)

Melt the butter in a skillet and prepare the sautè mixture, starting with onion.
When onion starts to soften, add mushrooms, garlic, speck/bacon, and the seasonings. Continue to cook on high heat stirring well, until onions and mushrooms are completely tender.
Just before turning off the heat, add the parsley.
Let it stand to chill to the room temperature.*
(*if the mixture is too warm it will soften the pastry dough immediately, and it will be difficult to flip over in the process.)
Roll out the puff pastry dough, flatten it to about 3mm thickness if the sheet is thicker, spread it flat on a baking sheet.
Mix in chopped brie into the sautèed mixture, blend in evenly.
Arrange the filling on the surface of the pastry sheet across the centre, about 6-7 wide, leaving about 2cm each on both sides (so it can be secured).
Fold the pastry sheet in 3, folding over the both sides together, overlapping slightly at the centre.
Carefully flip over the strudel, so the seam side will be at the bottom. Press the opening edges on both sides gently with a fork to secure them.
Make a few diagonal slits on the surface with a sharp knife.
Bake the strudel in the oven at 200°C for about 10 minutes, or until the surface is thoroughly golden brown.
Let is stand to cool slightly to stabilize the texture before slicing up.

Risotto con Shiitake Mushrooms

Mushrooms are always one of my favourite additions to make risotto. Porcini and finferli are particularly the perpetual winners, however recently we had a lot of dried shiitake on hand, while shiitake is not a traditional risotto mushrooms considering their marked unique fragrance I thought why not an experiment with risotto!? Surely enough, it came out extremely yummy!!

For 2 people
-1 cup of carnaroli rice (if you can't find it arborio is fine, but carnaroli is the ideal type for making risotto)
-One big onion, finely chopped
-6-10 dried shiitake mushrooms (depending on the size)
-60g (or more if needed) butter
-1 bayleaf
-100ml white wine*
-500-700ml of hot vegetable broth
-freshly ground parmigiano
-(optional) handful of chopped flat leave parsley

Soak the shiitake mushrooms in just enough water for one hour.
Take the mushrooms out, squeeze the liquid out (which to be saved) and roughly chop them.
In a large skillet sautè the onion with butter over middle heat. Add the rice and continue to cook, stirring thoroughly, until rice becomes semi-transparent.
Add the bayleaf, chopped mushrooms and wine, raise the heat level and bring to boil*.
When the wine is almost absorbed, add the liquid from soaking the mushrooms.

As the liquid gets absorbed as well, start adding the broth one ladleful at a time, adding another ladleful when the previous batch of broth is well absorbed (but the rice should still remain wet), stirring constantly.
Keep the broth hot by keeping it in a saucepan on a low heat, or microwaving from time to time.
Repeat the procesure until the rice are cooked "al dente" (firm, not crunchy not mushy)... it should take about somewhere between 20-25minutes more or less.
Chopped flat leaved parsley can be added towards the end of cooking the rice.
Serve hot with plenty of parmigiano to sprinkle upon.


*alternatively, you can use more water to soak the shiitake (+ you can load on extra mushrooms as well) to substitute the wine with the liquid conserved from soaking.

Oven baked pasta alla ricotta & mushrooms

This was another improvisation that came out a winner on my recent experiment. I came up with this idea when we had a lot of ricotta on hand. The key is the naturally lumpy ricotta needs to be whipped well with the milk to the smooth, cream like texture, and not to cook the pasta all the way as it will finish cooking itself inside the oven. As a mushroom lover, I think I will increase the amount of the mushrooms the next time though, IMO one can never put too much mushrooms in a dish ;-P

500g dry short pasta (I used fusilli)
700g ricotta
milk - as needed
50g(+ or -) grated parmiggiano/grana padano
500g mushrooms (button mushrooms are fine, but I would like to try with oyster mushrooms next time!)
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 tsp dried oregano
olive oil, as needed
more grated parmiggiano(grana padano) and bread crumbs for topping
salt
pepper

Finely slice the mushrooms and onion. Sautè them well in enough olive oil with smashed garlic.
Beat the ricotta in a bowl, adding some milk little by little gradually, to make a smooth, creamy (not too runny) mixture.
Meanwhile cook the pasta, remove from the pot and drain about 2 minutes before the suggested cooking time. (should be still quite chewy to the teeth)
Mix in the large bowl the sautèed mushrooms/onion, ricotta mixture and pasta until the pasta is evenly coated with the condiments.
Pour the mixture in a baking dish, top the surface with the mixture of bread crumbs and parmiggiano.
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes at 175°C, or until the topping is golden brown.

Insalata di funghi (Mushroom salad)

I had always believed it would be a complete waste of delicious food to eat mushrooms while they were raw, and I was very dubious about this recipe until I tried it once. Now I do make an exception with this lovely salad and it became one of my favourite shroom recipes!! Even if you also a staunch believer of cooked shrooms, trying is believing!! :-D

Insalata di funghi (Mushroom salad)


Ingredients for 2:
-500g/1lb White button mushrooms (Champignones), the fresher and larger the better!
-generous bunch of rocket/arugula (roughly chopped)
-80g/3oz.of bresaola or speck, if neither is available good quality smoked ham or lean hard salami, thinly sliced then finely julienned.
-80g/3oz.of parmigiano or aged pecorino, thinly shaved (NOT finely grated)
-grated peel of 1 lemon + the rest of the lemon
-mild gourmet mustard (I use either french dijon with whole mustard seeds, or german/bavarian style sweet mustard)
-good quality Extra Virgine Olive Oil

Wash the mushrooms, remove the stems and save them for other recipes (sugo, omelette etc...). peel off the thin outer surface of the cap. Then slice them as thinly as possible, or with mandoline or food processor will greatly help the task!
Toss in the rocket, bresaola/speck, cheese and lemon zest, squeeze the lemon juice over, and blend everything gently.
Serve the salad into individual serving bowl/plate, then spoon on the mustard and a drizzle of the oil, blend it into the salad and enjoy!!

Savoury Mushrooms Au Gratin

Here is another very tasty dish that will surely please any shroom heads like myself. The original idea and the real credit goes to Kadesma, a dear friend whom I met at a cooking forum. I modified her recipe slightly. This amount listed will serve anywhere from 2 hungry mushroom-heads to 4.

600-700g mushrooms, ideally porcini, oyster or portobello, but regular button mushrooms work just as well.
2 large cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
4-5 shallots or 1 onion, thinly sliced
Good fistful of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
Dash of dry marjoram
salt and pepper
80g evoo
splash of balsamic vinegar
butter for sautè, baking dish + for topping, circa 100g

1/2-c. fresh bread crumbs
1/4-c. freshly grated parmigiano reggiano or grana padano

Clean the mushrooms. Cut into small chunks if porcini are used, strip into thin pieces for oyster mushrooms, thin slices for portobello or button mushrooms (champignons).
put garlic, onion, parsley, marjoram,salt,pepper, evoo and vinegar in a good sized bowl.
Add mushrooms, mix well and marinate for a few hours, stirring occasionally.
Melt 1/2 the butter in heavy skillet. Sautè the marinated mushroom mixture thoroughly.
Pour the sautèed mixture in a buttered medium baking dish. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and cheese dot with remaining butter. Place dish under preheated broiler for some minutes until the top is golden brown. (Watch closely so it doesn't burn)

Creamy Mushroom Lasagne

I just love shrooms, and love to invent dishes dedicated to this adored ingredient of mine... I whipped up this lasagne on a whim, and turned out to be a big hit! :-D The description became a little long and ended up looking complicated, but if you ever made a regular lasagne, the method is pretty much the same... just the difference of using mushroom mixture instead of tomato based meat sauce. Warning: like so many of my recipes, the exact amount of ingredients were never measured... they are all approximate, so please prepared to be a little flexible! (I am sure if you are interested in this recipe, you wouldn't mind a little extra mushrooms, or cheese or bechamel, so better to be on the generous side :-) )

Ingredients:

Egg based lasagna sheets: about 400g, or enough to cover 20cmx30cm (8x12 in.) baking dish in 4 layers. Fresh ones are ideal (especially home made!), but you can also use certain type of dry sheets, for example Barilla "oven ready" http://www.barillaus.com/Home/Pages/Lasagne_OvenReady.aspx.

2 large onions, or 3 smaller ones, finely chopped
800g-1kg button mushrooms (champignons), thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced or finely chopped
3 generous tablespoons of butter
dash of majoram
dash of oregano
generous fistful of fresh flat leaved parsley, chopped (optional)
salt & pepper

250-300g solid mozzarella (the kind generally used for pizzas, sold in larger block or log, not the pure white moist ones conserved in liquid), diced or thinly sliced*

500ml+ bechamel sauce (Packaged Bechamel can be found ready to use in supermarkets, but it is also fairly easy to whip up. recipe is listed below!) **

60-80g freshly grated parmigiano or grana padano

Method:

1. In a large skillet melt the butter, add the onions, mushrooms and garlic, season with the majoram, oregano and s+p. Cover and simmer on a moderate heat, stirring occasionally.
Continue to cook until onions and mushrooms are completely softened.
By keeping the cover on you will extract the liquid to cover the bottom of the baking dish. If it gets too watery, remove the cover and let it evaporate.

2. Line a 20x30cm baking dish (or 8x12 in... normal rectangular size?) with a wax paper as neatly as possible. Or you can generously butter the surface alternatively.

3. Scoop out the liquid from the mushroom mixture, and generously and thoroughly wet the bottom of the dish.

4. Lay the first sheet of the lasagna pasta sheet.

5. Spread some of the mushroom mixture evenly on the surface (keeping in mind the shroom layers going to be repeated 3 times)

6. then sprinkle over the mozzarella cubes/slices. considering the cheese will melt and spread out, you don't need to cover the surface entirely. (you are going to run out of the cheese way too early!) sort of dot them over the mushrooms as evenly as possible.

7. sprinkle a little bechamele over, again sort of dot them around, otherwise you will get a lasagna swimming in bechamelle "soup"!

Repeat the procedure from 4. to 7. 2 more times.

8. Now Pour the bechamelle this time generously over the surface, making sure you will cover every corner of the pasta so it won't dry out in the process of cooking.

9. Cover the baking dish tightly with a foil and bake in the oven at 180°C/350°F for 30min.

10. Take out the dish and remove the foil. Turn up the oven to 210°C/425°F. Sprinkle generously with the grated parmigiano/grana padano.

11. Return the lasagne in the oven, bake for another 10-15min. or until the surface becomes golden brown.


*if the right kind of mozzarella can not be found, you could use a good quality ricotta, or other type of cheese that melts well with the heat, such as provola, fontina, gouda, emmental etc.

**Bechamel sauce
50g butter
500ml whole milk (room temp.)
50g flour
salt
pinch of nutmeg (optional)

melt the butter in a double boiler on a medium heat.
vigorously whisk the milk and flour together until smooth.
add the milk/flour mixture into the double boiler and stir well.
season with a little salt and nutmeg
Stir often in order to keep the texture smooth, and continue to cook until the mixture attains a desired density.