The publisher does something that alternately amazes and leads me to conclude he’s nuts. Or both simultaneously.
He forages for mushrooms.
I’m a big mushroom fan, myself. The family likes to call me The Hobbit. The basic cremini or button mushroom is mild, with a meaty texture and great on pizza or in pasta sauce, but it’s entry-level flavor. Morels, chanterelles, lion’s mane. Shiitake, oyster — they bring a meaty texture and a huge amount of umami to any dish, and I particularly like them sautéed lightly in a small amount of butter and garlic with a sauce created by deglazing my cast iron pan with a bit of balsamic vinegar.
But I’m not nuts. I do not forage for mushrooms.
Here’s the thing: Some of the tastiest mushrooms you can find in the woods of New York look very much like — and often grow in the same conditions as — some of the most deadly mushrooms. The death cap (yes, that’s an actual name) looks like an immature puffball. A real chanterelle grows in much the same conditions as the false chanterelle. If you don’t know what you’re looking for it’s easy to confuse a false morel for something tasty.
And some them actually taste pretty good, so you don’t realize you’ve pickled your liver for days, and by then, it’s often too late. The liver and kidneys are damaged. Or you’re dead.
So I leave my mushroom acquisition to the experts.
But at this time of the year, it’s easy to go into mushroom withdrawal. Foraging under a couple of feet of snow is challenging. And while grocery stores do sell some tasty varieties fresh, they often cost four or five times as much as the basic button.
But dried mushrooms are an option. A half-ounce container does cost as much as a three- or four-ounce container of gourmet mushrooms, but once hydrated, they produce a lot more food and flavor. It’s not the sort of thing you’d sauteé or roast, but dried mushrooms make a tasty soup — far better than that canned abomination that most people use as a binder for casseroles.
There’s no real trick to making a dried mushroom soup. Rehydrate the fungi, stir in some liquid (the water left over from the rehydration has a lot of flavor), add some herbs or other flavors. Soup.
In this particular recipe, some mild creminis add bulk to the broth and tame the intense earthy flavor of the dried mushrooms. If you want to go full-on fungi, replace them with more dried mushrooms. But my wife (who is far too tall to be a hobbit) said that would be a bit too much for her.
I trust her judgment. Except for marrying me, she’s pretty well convinced me she’s not nuts. Can’t say that for the publisher.
DRIED MUSHROOM SOUP
2 ounces dried mushrooms
3 cups hot water
10 ounces cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup flour
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup sherry
6 Tbs. butter, split
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried tarragon
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 Tbs. minced fresh dill
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Rehydrate the dried mushrooms in the hot water for about 30 minutes. Reserve liquid, and roughly chop the hydrated mushrooms.
Collect the dried herbs in a large tea ball or tie together in a bit of cheese cloth.
Melt 3 Tbs. of the butter in a large pot and sweat the garlic for 30 seconds to a minute. Add the fresh mushrooms and sauté lightly for three to four minutes. Add the rehydrated mushrooms, stir, cover and allow to cook for seven to eight minutes.
Add the remaining 3 Tbs. of butter and melt, then sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms to create a roux. Stir under light heat for two to three minutes to cook out some of the flour’s starchiness.
Stir in the sherry, then the reserved mushroom liquid (which should be about 1 cup). Add the bay leaves and the tea ball of herbs. Add the stock and season with salt and pepper.
Allow to come to a light boil, then cover and simmer about 20 minutes.
Remove the bay leaves and tea ball. Stir in the heavy cream and minced dill, then re-season with salt and pepper.
Play with it: This recipe was made with oyster mushrooms, but try dried shiitake, porcini or a mix of dried mushrooms. A dollop of sour cream will give a distinctly Eastern European flair. Or mix up the herbs to your taste in a herbes de provence fashion.
