Morel Mushrooms (Morchella)

Growing on a bed of bark chippings....

There are a few variations of these Spring Wonders - they are polymorphic in appearance and therefore vary in colour and shape, but with the honeycombed cap they are readily recognisable. There is one mushroom that could, in theory be mistaken for a morel - the false morel, but it is rather obviously different. It is very poisonous, though this toxicity is greatly reduced by cooking thoroughly, but, as always, please make sure that you check before you pick.

However, the True Morel is delicious, but even it should be cooked completely as it contains small levels of hydrazine which can cause tummy upsets. It's easy, really - don't eat Morels raw. But then why would you? - they are delicious sautéed in butter with a handful of chives and the tiniest dash of lemon at the end. or shaved thinly, shallow fried very gently and sprinkled onto scrambled eggs.

One more warning - due to this honeycomb like structure of the cap - they should be tapped out when cut, brushed and sliced carefully to allow all extraneous wildlife to vacate their newly found habitat, before eating.

Please take my word for it - this mushroom is worth all the trouble. Its nutty flavour is unique and redolent of misty, musty spring mornings, as the sunshine filters through the verdant green of early spring foliage and a pheasant coughs and stretches its wings, shaking off the light dew of a clear night. One can almost taste the woodland.

Cold Snap

Formed around a dripping hose...

First, I made some soup. I'd already made bread, but I thought if we're going for a walk in this we'll need something warm and substantial on our return. My basic vegetable soup recipe is HERE. That done we dressed up so warmly until we looked like unfashionable Michelin Men and tying boot laces became a laborious task. then we sallied forth.

It's been very cold for a week or so now. This time last year we were languishing in dry, unseasonably warm weather, there was a hosepipe ban in the southern counties and it was due to be very dry into April. Little did we know what was to follow or that our summer had pretty much happened.

Early primroses are showing...

My wife and I just had to get out for a walk though, cold or no cold. We had been working away indoors at the NEC and were suffering from Cabin Fever. It was just 1 degree outside, but a bitingly cold north easterly breeze made it feel more like -5 or so.

Bracket fungi ....

My iPhone captured some of the frozen sculptures that could be found with a watching eye and as you can see from the icicle around the blue hose, it was jolly cold. There was still some life working its way through though; early primroses and hazel catkins were abundant, but the Bluebell buds that were very obviously coming through last year, are pretty much conspicuous by their absence today.

hot soup and warm bread in front of a wood fire was a wonderful treat when we got back home and our faces were soon glowing as we drank our tea and relaxed on the sofa.

But it was good to get out, even in the cold.

Homemade soup and bread

Jelly Ear Mushroom (Auricularia judae)

An interesting etymology occurs with this particular fungus. As you can see from its Latin epithet, it is thought to be named after Judas Iscariot who, it is believed, hanged himself from an Elder tree in his remorse. This mushroom is often found clinging to Elder although in the photograph above it was growing on a Mahonia in a garden.

The Common name Judas' Ear, became Jews Ear, probably disparagingly, but is now fortunately more commonly called Jelly Ear. It is widely found throughout the year, all around the UK and its tough robustness makes it ideal for soups, stews and casseroles. It is also used in Chinese Hot and Sour Dishes but more interestingly, it can be dried and re-hydrated often ending up larger than its original size. 

Cook it for a long time in a casserole and it will add a mild, delicate flavour and a jelly like texture. For this latter reason I would prefer to use it in soups that can be blitzed into a smooth texture at the end of the cooking process.

As always, please take care when cooking and eating mushrooms....

Deep Purple - Amethyst Deceiver (Laccaria amethystina)

A wonderfully vivid mushroom of such fairy like character that none of my friends can believe it's edible. Its very appearance seems dangerous and "toadstooly" rather than mushroomy.....But it looks fantastic with saffron rice or in a dish with the mellow yellow sublimity of the chanterelle with which it is often found. It can look great in a salad too and it will definitely impress your friends when they see the stunning colour.

The Wonderful Chanterelle Mushroom (Cantharellus cibarius

Frying off the robust Chanterelle

The Photo which opens this blog, at the top of the page at the moment is a Chanterelle. Photographed in the Scottish Highlands this delicious mushroom can be found in abundance if one looks in all the right places! It's a fat, chunky, solid  fungi that feels as good as it tastes. It has sometimes the smell of apricots about it and its robust nature and fine taste make it a superb meal on its own. My wife and I either have them in omelets with a  hint of garlic and a sprinkling of chives or in a risotto where the mushrooms are fried off in garlic, butter and a squeeze of lemon juice and then folded in to the risotto after it has been cooked.

Being a wonderful, delicate shade of mellow yellow may seem to make them easier to find, but in the autumn woodland floors are littered, carpeted and sometimes swathed in acres of yellow leaves! The false chanterelle is similar in shape and size, though it is spindly, more fragile and more orange than yellow, so a careful check will ensure you have the correct fungi, but the false version is not poisonous - just pointless. 

A Scottish find...

If you find a bed of chanterelles, make a note; they will return year after year in the same area faithfully although not necessarily at the same time as their fruiting depends on the weather. Once you have them, keep them! Those below we found about a mile from our cottage in Kent.

Chanterelles and Amethyst Deceiver - a colourful dish.

The Parasol Mushroom (Macrolepiota procera

A hand basket with the large Parasols dwarfing the Boletus

Every Autumn on the estate on which we live there is an explosion of a mushroom so large and tasty that only one or two are needed at a time to provide a tasty dish or two (or three). This is the parasol mushroom which stands up to twelve inches high and can be seen from a considerable distance even though its dinner plate sized cap and its tall, lean stem are well camouflaged with a snakeskin pattern.

So astonishing is the sight of a stand of these huge fungi that it can be all but impossible to stop oneself from running towards them, foraging basket it hand, reminiscent of Julie Andrews singing 'The Hills Are Alive' to pick them, but it would be well worth the embarrassment, believe me. As if the size alone was an insufficient indicator of this mushroom, it smells very strongly of warmed milk. It is often useful to smell the fungi you pick as many have individual aromas that are helpful clues to their identity

A stand of Parasols

There are some smaller mushrooms that look similar to the Parasol, especially the related and nastily poisonous Dapperlings, but these are much smaller and open their caps far sooner, the Parasol stays closed in its tallness, drumstick like and opens late as can be seen from the picture below. Don't pick any diminutive mushrooms only the large Parasols. Partially opened specimens are at their best and tastiest. The gills are flaky, but if the 'shroom is not completely open it will afford these delicate undersides some protection.

I don't eat the stalks which are quite woody, but they can give an extra depth if added to a stew or a stock. The flavour of the remainder of the mushroom is delicate and nutty, quite distinctive and I think delicious with garlic - in fact Garlic creamed Parasol Mushrooms is a fantastic side dish to many meals. It's robust enough for risottos, pastas and omelets as well as casseroles and stews. 

As always, please be extra careful when eating mushrooms, make sure you have correctly identified your quarry and only pick sufficient for your immediate needs.

I can never think of the word "Parasol" without reminiscing about an old Two Ronnie's sketch from the 70's

"Down in the barn where the candlelight flickers

I lost my shirt and she lost her... parasol..."

Shaggy Ink Cap (Coprinus comatus)

This is an often seen mushroom , yet seldom tasted. It turns rather rapidly to black mush and so should only be eaten when very fresh and young and when cut should be white throughout. It's not poisonous at these later stages, just like most of us as we grow older - it becomes more unpleasant to look at....You can't, therefore keep it until the next day - it has a zero shelf life, but that's ok - fresh is good.

It's mostly found along path and road edges. Like many mushrooms it seems to like broken ground and verges - the annual crop outside our cottage grows in and around a hole that was filled in a couple of years ago. This increases its usefulness as one does not need to look to far nor too hard, being as it is, bright white and shaggy, it's therefore also easy to identify. 

Give it a go, but eat it young....

Birch Bolete (Leccinum scabrum)

Birch Bolete

Another tasty mushroom to find, and easily identifiable due to its sponge underparts and obvious colouring, this fungus is micchorizal with the widely found silver birch. This means it co-exists with this type of tree and likes the habitat that the birch offers it. As the birch is common, so too is this fungus and its wide availability and taste make it a favourite in the mushroom hunter’s basket. 

This happy circumstance of great taste and wide availability is not always prevalent in mushroom foraging. Unfortunately many fungi that are desirably delicious are usually rare, drab in colour or both, this particularly applies to the King of Mushrooms – Boletus edulis or the Porchini. Also known as the cep or penny bun it is so porcine in its nature and look that it almost squeaks when it is growing, hence its Italian name of ‘Little Pig’. It is, however, a fantastic mushroom to eat and cook with. Hopefully I will blog more about this fine, fat fellow when I next find one. Actually, it's more likely to be my wife who locates one first - she has eyes finely tuned to the seeking out of delicious fungi.

The robust nature of the Birch Bolete makes it an ideal cooking all-rounder, equally at home in an omlette, risotto or stew. This mushroom can also be found in orange as the Orange Birch Bolete (Boletus malaneum) and is found just as widely and is just as edible.

 Remember to take care when foraging mushrooms, take a book and if you’re unsure do NOT eat it. 

All mushrooms are edible……ONCE.

An orange birch bolete (Leccinum malaneum) 

The Boletus Mushroom.....Bay Bolete

There are many Boletus type mushrooms and from this time of year through to late Autumn most of the species can be found at some stage or another. It's late July and already we've had a few mushrooms in our omlettes and risottos in the Kelly Kitchen, but I just wanted to mention the Bay Bolete as many people are put off by its unusual characteristic of turning a strange shade of blue when cut or bruised. Don't let this put you off, it's just a form of oxidisation and they are a tasty and abundant foraging item.

Generally, the Boletus type mushroom is easily identified by its spongy bottom! It does not have gills, but instead it has a sponge like underneath. There are a couple of nasty tasting boletes, but only a couple and they are red and easily identified. I will blog them as I locate them this year. So look out for the boletus family, especially as one of them - the Porcini, Penny Bun or Cep is one of the tastiest mushrooms the UK has to offer. I may show you some pictures and describe the mushroom to you, but you'll have to fight me for the location .....

These all cook well and can also be dried but keep them from getting damp and pick them in fine weather as they easily become water logged.

Nestling In The Dark...Horse Mushroom (Agaricus arvensis)

Nestling in the dark undergrowth, I found this mushroom, pictured above and below, along with another monster alongside that had long since gone over and turned to a soggy black morass. 

Named for its size and not its proximity to or relationship with anything equine, this large member of the field mushroom family is a good find due to its size and taste. Because of the excessively wet start to summer this year, I am finding my fungi a little earlier than usual.

For the majority of mushrooms and toadstools the requisite conditions are warmth, humidity or dampness and darkness, so a wet, warm April, May and June has been an ideal start and a rummage around the shrubbery, hedgerow or woodland will reveal a few early examples of one of the weirdest food items nature has to offer - the fungus. Smelling slightly of aniseed, this white wonder is quite easily recognised due to its size and its resemblance to the large field mushroom that you can buy in the shops.

A young horse mushroom just emerging

As always, it pays to take care when foraging fungi. The most usual mix-up with field mushrooms of the Agaricus family is the poisonous Yellow Stainer. As its name suggest, this latter mushroom instantly glares an almost flourescent yellow when cut and bruised and is quite alarming. It also emits a strong anticeptic odour rather than the pleasantly aniseed smell of the arvensis.

Take care, but enjoy the countryside.

Another newly-emerged horse mushroom

Chicken of the Woods with Seafood Risotto

Following on from my recent blog, I found another Chicken of the Woods fungus within yards of my front door and decided to make a risotto with it together with some lovely scallops and mussels I had in.

Recipe

It really is fairly standard and, as usual, you can swap and change it with the availability of items to hand:

I sweated off some garlic in oil and butter for a few minutes before adding the arborio rice and mixing it together before adding a glug of white wine.

After a minute or two I started adding stock to the rice - I used a very light vegetable stock, and it should be hot - together with some white pepper and a small amount of salt. I also added some chopped herbs - your choice here - I used some Greek basil and coriander because that's what I had handy, but you could use a small amount of time, parsley, chervil, a little fennel or dill.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, I fried off the mushroom in a little butter and oil, adding salt and pepper and a tiny drop of the white wine. After a couple of minutes the scallops and mussel meat were added and fried until they just started to take on some colour. This was then removed from the heat and allowed to rest.

When the Risotto had cooked and was all creamy and unctuous I added back the mushroom and seafood melange and stirred until combined, adding more herbs and salt as necessary. I served it with Pecorino cheese and more fresh herbs sprinkled on top though you could use Parmesan.

Remember, Risotto is all about building up the flavours, so I used the liquid from the seafood as well as any juices left from frying off the mushroom, scallops and mussels. That's also why I used the wine, herbs and, in this instance, some peas.

The more little tasters you add the better will be the final result.

Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphereus)

High up in an oak tree - The Chicken of the Woods 

I like mushrooms. I like their look, I like their tenacity and I like their taste (the edible ones).

There are around 4000 species of mushrooms large enough to eat in the UK and about 25% of those are edible. Most of this last quarter are either tasteless, tough or too small to bother with and so we're left with about 100 or so that are sought after and only about 25 or so that most foragers bother with.

Of that original 4000 species, about ten per cent are actually poisonous and only 20 are dangerously so. I say only, but please do not take any chances at all. If you don't know which mushroom it is - do not eat it.

I have tried a couple of the nasty, hot mushrooms which prevent you eating more almost instantly due to the horrid taste left in the mouth. But there are a few lovely and innocuous looking specimens that will leave you in hospital and worse. Please be careful. Most though will give you gastric uncertainty and discomfort by way of diarrhoea or will give you visual uncertainty by way of hallucinations. Neither are pleasant so be sure of what you eat.

This week I found a fungi which I usually start to find later in the summer, but it can be found earlier depending on the humidity - this spring has been particularly wet.

High rainfall has brought this one out early....

It has a wonderfully evocative name, a stunning colour and is one of the best mushrooms to cook with. It has a pleasant mushroomy flavour as daft as that sounds, and a solid texture which means it is perfect for curries, casseroles, omlettes and risottos. When you cut into its flesh it is like carving chicken breast. It's also very easy to identify and therefore safe, but it doesn't agree with everyone according to some books, so if it is your first time eating this solid bracket fungi then try a little at a time.

It is found mainly on oak and usually on decaying or damaged oak, but I have found it on beech and ash. Do not eat any if it is growing on a yew tree - this will almost definitely be poisonous.

I expect you're thinking "Gosh all these warnings, is it really worth it?" Well, yes, I think it is. It's great food, it's free and it's a smugly satisfying thing to find and cook your own food. This is a great mushroom to start with, but do cook it first. There, the final safety warning.....try it and enjoy the countryside.

Foraging Forays.

Mainly Parasol Mushrooms

Parasol Mushroom, Sweet Chestnut,
Field Mushroom, Hazel Nut,
Chantrelles, Rose Hips,
Ceps, Walnuts,
Boletus mushrooms, Rowan Berries,
Horse Mushrooms, Elderflowers,
Amathyst deceivers, Elderberries,
puffballs, Sloes,
Chicken of The Woods, Blackberries,
Wild Garlic. Sorrel,

The above list is most of what we've picked up in the woods over the last six months or so. Obviously care is needed when foraging - there are many pitfalls for the unwary, uneducated or merely hopeful. Certainly when picking mushrooms extreme caution should be excercised, there are a dozen or so mushrooms that can kill and several dozen that can cause severe gastric upsets. If you're not 100% sure - then don't eat it, don't even pick it!

Horse Mushroom

The same goes for some of the flora that can be foraged. There are many members of the potato and carrot family that can kill or at the very least cause severe illness, so again, make sure of what you're picking. There are many brilliant books available - try the River Cottage series on mushrooms, Hedgerow and Seashore for information, humour and recipes.

Sloes, chestnuts, hips and walnuts

 

But we've made chutneys, jams and jellies galore, sloe gin, bramble vodka, rosehip syrup, risottos, omlettes and eaten the nuts au naturelle, so to speak.

I would encourage anyone to get out with a couple of good books and have a good look around. It's fun, educational, healthy and free!

Wonderful

Black faced lambs

We went out for a long walk yesterday in persistent rain and found a few new trails as well as rescuing a silly sheep that had got its head stuck in a fence. So today as the weather was mostly dry, but chilly and windy, we walked those trails again and made a few wonderful discoveries. Well, I say wonderful - they are for us. We're loving living here and each new discovery fills us with amazement.

We found more wild garlic, some more wild apples and acres of bluebell glades, but amongst all those I spotted the dryad's saddle fungus on a tree and was so intent with focusing the camera on it that I hardly heard Franc's excited voice. She had found a wood full of wild orchids, the early purple and there were dozens of them in among the bluebells, wonderful to see. They could easily be confused as off colour bluebells, or a variagation of them, but the leaves are very different, and on much closer inspection, the flowers are so intricately patterned as to be nothing like the bluebell.

Early Purple Orchid

The rain stayed away, although by the time we got back home we were windswept - several squalls had come close to giving us a serious soaking - and sat down to a welcome cup of tea and a bowl of home made Butternut squash soup, with wild garlic sprinkled in. Mmmm. Then, as an added bonus, two fallow deer graced the back edge of our garden, dissolving into the woods before I could get my camera. A wonderful day.

Dryad's Saddle - inedible, but pretty.