[priya]

With the abundant rains we've been having, these mushrooms, which are considered to be a local delicacy are being sold by street vendors around town.  They are extremely fleshy, very meaty and are excellent eating - either boiled with milk, onions and cracked peppercorns, sliced and baked with olive oil or just fried in butter.

Any other suggestions for my very large purchase, which can then be added to our recipe section?

Attached Files

•  wildmushrooms.jpg   45.48K   11 downloads

[digital drifter]

The thing about mushrooms is the killer ones.  I usually try the mushroom stuff AFTER someone else has had a couple of bites.



Too much science readings you see.

It's too easy to get the poisonous ones mixed with the delicacies,no?

[gautam]

As you note, these are an evanescenjt delicacy, and their delicate flavors are best appreciated unadorned, save with things that will merely torment people in Zimbabwe with their present unavailability: eggs, butter, olive oil, cream. To defeat that scarcity, one could take advantage of the sun and dry weather, to carefully dry some sliced mushrooms under fly screens. This might concentrate their flavor, making them a useful addition to vegetable soups in the cool season to come.

[WonderWomanUSA]

Can you get the ingredients for a quiche together? You could even do this without a piecrust, or perhaps with bread like a "bread pudding." This recipe is huge -- I translated it from French measurements and it actually makes two quiches, using American-sized frozen pie crusts and pans.

                      
* Exported from MasterCook *

                            Quiche Forestiere

Recipe By     :Susanna Dilliot (C'Serve Cooks)
Serving Size  : 16     Preparation Time :0:35
Categories    : Pies        

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  2             pounds  mushrooms -- wild
  1                     pie crust, frozen
                        
  3                    extra large eggs
     2/3           cup  milk
  1                cup  creme fraiche -- or sour cream
  2        tablespoons  oil
     1/2      teaspoon  herbes de provence
                        salt and pepper

Clean and chop mushrooms. Saute them in the oil. Salt & pepper them and let cool.

Beat the remaining eggs with the milk, the creme fraiche, herbs, salt and pepper.

Prick the bottom of pie crust with a fork and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Cover the pastry with foil and fill with dry beans. Bake for 15 minutes at 400F. Remove beans and foil, add mushrooms and egg mixture. Return to oven for 30 minutes more.

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[priya]

DD - You'll find out soon enough if these are inedible - but I doubt it very much.  We have even bigger mushrooms than those shown in the photo - in fact, they're the size of large soup plates and just as delicious as the ones I'm going to use! (We're talking even bigger than Texas standards here )

Gautamji - I'll try drying a few of them, finely sliced, in my oven, at a very low temperature, thereafter storing them in an airtight container.  Would you suggest storing them in the freezer, or just in a cool dark cupboard?

WWUSA - I'll try the 'bread pudding' option as flour is often difficult to obtain.  Cream/creme fraiche is also something that I'll have to scour the shops for, so it'll be easier to substitute with milk and eggs (egg custard + herbs)

Thank you all, for your help and suggestions.

[gautam]

If you have the freezer space, why not? Then, if there is ever the time when electricity outages require the dry slices to sit in the cupboard, that too is fine, one need not discard them unlike frozen soft food, provided they are well dried.