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Q). Dear Chef John, I
need a nice easy recipe. I have some guests coming and want to serve a
very nice meal using chanterelle mushrooms. Can you help me? Thanks in
advance!
Via telephone
A). Cooking with wild mushrooms is truly one of my personal
favorites. In fact, I love cooking with mushrooms so much that I wrote
an entire cookbook on the subject. The real pleasure comes from serving
them to guests who really appreciate them. If you want to really impress
your guests, make it a multi-course wild mushroom dinner. Here are two
recipes from my Cooking with Mushrooms cookbook:
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Baked White Fish
Recipe with Chanterelles
2 lrg. firm white fish or salmon fillets (farmed or wild, as long as
it's fresh)
3 chanterelles, sliced
1/2 cup olive oil, extra virgin
2 tbsp. Pisto's Sensational Seasoning
1 yellow onion
1 green zucchini, sliced
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped & seeded
6-8 snow pea pods
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 bunch basil, fresh chopped
2 tsp. Butter, unsalted
3 oz. white wine, dry
2 sheets parchment (24"x 24")
1 lemon, sliced
salt & pepper to taste Preheat oven
to 350 degrees. Paint parchment paper thoroughly with olive oil on both
sides. Place first sheet on large baking sheet. Paint |
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first fish fillet with olive oil on both
sides. Sprinkle with Sensational Seasoning. Place a portion of zucchini,
tomatoes, peas, garlic and basil in the center of the parchment and
season with salt and pepper. Place fish on vegetables and mushrooms on
top of fillet. Place several slices of lemon on fillet. Add some butter
and wine. Fold parchment over, covering fish, and twist parchment ends
and tops closed. Repeat process for second fillet. Place parchment
packets side by side on large baking sheet. Bake fish in parchment for
20 to 30 minutes. Serve fish inside parchment. (Use kitchen scissors to
cut open the top). Note: Cooking parchment paper should be available
from your butcher or culinary specialty store. If available, use clean,
heavy duty, plain brown bags sliced open.
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Barbecued Wild Mushrooms
Recipe
Serves 4-6 persons
This delicious appetizer really shows off the flavor of the mushrooms
and can be made with any large mushroom (haws wing, giant cypress,
porcini, etc.). Start with 1 pound of large mushrooms, sliced 1/4-inch
thick. Lightly brush slices of French bread (one loaf) with olive oil
and melted butter. Season with my seasonings or your own, and toast
under your broiler or on a cast iron stovetop grill. Lightly brush the
sliced chanterelles with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Preheat cast iron stovetop grill to medium-high heat. Place the
mushrooms on the grill and cook for 2-3 minutes and don't touch them.
Flip them over on the other side for another 2-3 minutes. A barbecue or
broiler can also be used. Place the mushrooms on a large platter covered
with a bed of shredded lettuce. Garnish with sprigs of parsley. Season
lightly with salt and pepper and serve with the toasted French bread. |
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Q). Dear John, My Father just
returned from a two-month stay at his cousin's near Ancona, Italy. I
asked him to bring me back a small truffle. Apparently, even in Italy
they are very expensive, so he brought me back a jar of Salsa Tartufata
all"olio vegine oliva. I opened it for a small taste. This salsa has a
very aromatic, earthy, kalamata-like flavor. It has a consistency like
very finely chopped black olives. I don't speak Italian, so here goes,
The ingredients are: Champignon, olio Extra-Vergine d'Oliva 40%, Tartufi
Estivi (Tuber Aestivum 1.3%, Aromi, Prezzemolo Peperoncino, Aglio, Sale
Antissidante (E300), Acidificante (E300). It seems like a little will go
along way, but I like big flavors, so I think I'd use a lot myself. What
can I make with this wonderfully, flavorful salsa? I'm thinking
something with pasta. How about you?
Stacey M.
Pacific Grove, CA
Via e-mail |
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A). In my opinion, the best way to
serve this salsa is also the simplest. Toast some 1/2"-thick slices of
real Italian bread on a cookie sheet in your oven, spreading on a small
amount of sweet butter before you put them in the oven. After removing
from the oven and allowing to cool, spread on a thin layer of Tartufata
on each piece of toast and munch on them with a beautiful barbaresco
(Italian wine also grown in California); or toss your truffle sauce into
some fresh, hot egg pasta. Just add a little more extra-virgin olive oil
and some freshly grated Reggiano. Or make a Tartufata omelet or dab some
on some fresh fried eggs (fried in butter) - all good! The Tartufi
Estivi truffle is known in Italy as the "summer black truffle" and it
can be quite delicious. |
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The wisdom of dieting by Pierre Bain (overheard): "Would you rather die
happy or with a beautiful body?" Spoken like a true restaurateur mon ami!
I know the way I would go.
This past Sunday I was looking for a local restaurant to take my Mom and
one of her pals out to lunch after church. I rang up the Blue Moon
Seafood Bistro, a nice guy |
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answered the phone and assured me there would be a window seat, and to
come on over. We left Salinas right after church a bit after 11:00 am. I
found parking right in front. I was having a Martini by 11:50. It was a
great meal. The Blue Moon was clean, well staffed and we had our window
seat. We all ate well and the check was the same amount as the local
breakfast joint. Why didn't I stop by sooner, I could
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kick myself. Mom had a great 70th birthday lunch. My thanks to you for
keeping a nice restaurant on the ready for us. Please don't tell any one
about this, I don't want to have to stand in line next time. I want to
walk right in and get that window seat.
Brian from Salinas
Via e-mail
Tell Mom, Happy Birthday!
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