Fricassée of Chanterelles

Have I mentioned recently how much I love mushrooms? I really love mushrooms. Maybe it was finally switching grocery stores (to one that actually carries varieties other than white button, grumble grumble), maybe it was finally buying the mushroom-loving cookbook Canal House Cooks Every Day, but there's just something about mushrooms that clicks with me. I love their weird, alien shapes, I love their infinite variety, I love the skill that it takes to correctly harvest them. But most of all, I love their taste.

Specifically, I think I love the way they meld with other tastes. They work just as well alongside a tomato sauce as they do cream and parmesan cheese. Now, I hope you will not all be completely shocked if I confess to you that I have never cooked with chanterelle mushrooms before. But I have so much faith in the greatness of Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer (of Canal House) that I instinctively knew that this should be the inaugural recipe I cook from their cookbook. And hoo, boy. 

Though chanterelles are extremely expensive where I live (who the heck ever heard of an edible mushroom growing in Texas?) this meal was actually super easy to pull together, though I had to scale down the serving size a bit. If you have the means and the access, feel free to make this with 1/2 pound of chanterelles. And I can't tell you how good this was. Earthy, creamy, sweet, aromatic (from the oregano and the nutmeg), set against a robust pasta...It was pretty much heaven, and was a cinch to whip up on a weeknight. This fricasée would be equally as good over toast or on any number of dishes. I had to restrain myself from just standing over the pan and eating it with a spoon. 

 

Fricassée of Chanterelles (From Canal House Cooks Every Day)

(Serves 2)

3 Tablespoons butter

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

1 large clove garlic, crushed, finely minced

Ground nutmeg, just a pinch

Salt and pepper

2 Tablespoons white wine or Marsala

1/4 pound fresh chanterelles, cleaned, trimmed and halved

Small handful fresh oregano leaves

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 pound pappardelle

Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, and season with nutmeg and salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the wine and cook for a few minutes. Add the remaining butter. When it has melted, add the mushrooms and oregano. Taking care not to break up the mushrooms, stir everything together and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the cream and cook until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Keep warm over low heat.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until just tender. Drain the pasta in a colander. Add the pasta to the mushrooms and fold everything together. Season to taste and enjoy!