Wild Mushrooms a la Crème

This recipe comes from Forgotten Skills of Cooking by Darina Allen, whom the San Fransisco Chronicle called "The Julia Child of Ireland." If you know anything at all about me, now you know several reasons why I own this book.

You may not know how much I love mushrooms. One of the things I miss most about Michigan is hunting morel mushrooms. Morels are my favorite, but I love every kind of mushroom. When I saw chanterelle mushrooms at Costco, I couldn't resist. And this recipe seemed like a fabulous use for them.

Now, I'll be the first to tell you that this is not a two-pan recipe, as Darina suggests it should be. I see absolutely no reason for it. I just cooked the onions first, removed them to a bowl, and cooked the mushrooms in batches in the same pan. They were to be added to the onion pan in the end anyway, so what's the difference?

I love Wild Mushrooms a la Crème. So delicious! Make some today!



Wild Mushrooms a la Crème

Serves 8

Mushrooms a la crème is a fantastic all-purpose recipe, and if you've got a surplus of wild mushrooms, use those instead of cultivated ones. You can even use dried mushrooms.

4 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 pound wild mushrooms (chanterelles, morels, ceps, false chanterelles, or the common field mushroom), sliced
salt and freshly ground pepper
good squeeze of lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream
freshly chopped parsley
1 tablespoon freshly chopped chives (optional)

Melt half the butter in a heavy saucepan until it foams. Add the chopped onion, cover, and cook over low heat for 5-10 minutes or until quite soft but not colored; remove the onions to a bowl. Meanwhile, cook the sliced mushrooms in a hot frying pan with the remaining butter, in batches if necessary. Season each batch with salt, freshly ground pepper, and a tiny squeeze of lemon juice. Add the mushrooms to the onions in the saucepan, then add the cream and allow to bubble for a few minutes. Taste and correct the seasoning, and add the chopped herbs.

Mushrooms a la Crème keeps well in the fridge for 4-5 days and freezes perfectly.

Good things to do with Wild Mushrooms a la Crème

• Serve as a vegetable
• Filling for omelets or savory pancakes
• Filling for vol-au-vents or pastry tartlets
• Topping for baked potatoes
• Sauce for chicken breasts, steaks, hamburgers, lamb chops, or veal
• Sauce for pasta
• Mushrooms on toast
• Post enrichment for casseroles and stews