With all this rain flooding the Southeast, wild mushrooms have popped up here and there. I’ve seen several fairy rings, including the one below, which I snapped in my neighbor’s back yard before they mowed them down. Fortunately, none have appeared in our basement. (For those who don’t know, we are in the process of stripping everything out of the basement to have it waterproofed, and mushrooms did in fact once grow through the nasty old carpeting that we ripped out a few months ago.) But we did get the cuties above that I noticed today while pruning some bushes under the magnolia.
When we lived in Poland I wanted to go mushroom hunting but never had the opportunity. We’d see entire families coming off the train, baskets covered with tea towels dangling from their arms, and know they had gotten up before dawn to sniff out wild mushrooms in the forest. One day we bought chanterelles at the enormous flea market from an old lady wrapped in a mangy coat and two threadbare scarves. She told us to cook them with eggs, and we happily followed her directions.
I just read that certain wild mushrooms in Russia are to be avoided due to Chernobyl. Until recently, governments as far west as Germany tried to keep people from hunting and eating some mushrooms because of the nuclear fallout. I guess it’s not surprising. When I was teaching at UT, I had two students in the same class who suffered from thyroid cancer because their families were visiting Europe during the Chernobyl disaster. How crazy is that? But let’s not linger on that sadness right now. We’re talking about fungi.
I’m not familiar enough with mushrooms to do much identifying. I read about them from time to time, but some things really just require a teacher, someone to point out in person the difference between the poisonous species and the safe ones because they can look very similar. For instance, chanterelles, with their orange caps, resemble Jack o’Lanterns, which cause bad stomach problems. The ones below might be parasol mushrooms. That’s my best guess right now.
I feel sorry for people who don’t like mushrooms. A few weeks ago, I purchased a slender bottle of truffle oil, and I have to resist the urge to drizzle it over everything and OD on something that is supposed to be used sparingly. It is expensive after all, and we are in a recession. But it’s just so delectable.
Wild-mushroom ravioli
- Wonton wrappers (found at any old grocery store) or homemade pasta
- Homemade farmer’s cheese or ricotta
- Assortment of mushrooms (porcini, chanterelles, etc.), diced
- Onions, diced
- Garlic, minced
- Fresh herbs (basil, oregano, dill, etc.), chopped
- Truffle oil
- light grey Celtic sea salt
Saute the onions until translucent. Add mushrooms and garlic until softened. In a bowl, mix the cheese and herbs. Stir in the vegetables. Place a teaspoon of the mixture onto a wrapper, brush the edges with water, place another wrapper over the top, and press to seal. You can press with a fork to make sure the edges are sealed and to give the ravioli some semi-fancy crimping. Drop them in boiling water and fish them out when they rise to the top. Drizzle with truffle oil and sprinkle with sea salt. You can use any sea salt, of course, but I highly recommend experimenting with different salts. You’d be surprised at how much the flavor varies. Light grey Celtic sea salt is divine. Sometimes I spoon a little basil pesto over the top before adding the truffle oil and salt. If you end up with leftover filling since I didn’t specify amounts, sit back and eat it out of the bowl.
