by Claire Lassam | If there is a list out there of foods that sell like crazy in restaurants but home cooks seldom try, wild mushrooms would definitely be on it, and very near the top. And fair enough, if someone hadn’t personally shown me how to clean a morel, I would probably be incredibly intimidated by it.

But wild mushrooms aren’t just hard to clean, they’re also hard to find, not to mention pretty expensive. They’re only in season for brief periods and you have to know what to get and when. For those with some courage and a car, foraging locally is an option. I’ve heard that chanterelles aren’t too tricky to locate on the North Shore and around the Squamish area (lacking bravery and a drivers license, I’ve yet to try). Some of the ones we see in stores come from these parts, but lots come from Saskatchewan and more still come from Eastern Europe, particularly Romania.

Chanterelles might be my favourite type of wild mushroom. They’re soft, earthy and slightly nutty with a texture that can hold up to cooking but never gets chewy. Cooking with them dates back to the 1500’s, where they became very popular in France (and thus countries influenced by French cuisine in the 1700’s). They held for many years a high reputation for being an ingredient for the nobility across the Continent. If Catherine D’Medici ate it, I want to too.

If you’re looking, you can find them at Whole Foods, Urban Fare, South China Seas (sometimes) and occasionally at some green grocers (last year they had them at Norman’s on The Drive, but this year, no dice!). And if you can’t find them at a shop (or a farmer’s market) there are lots of restaurants featuring them.

You can grab them on pizzas at Campagnolo, with a bison steak at Chambar, with a chicken duo at Ensemble, and -if you’re lucky – you can still catch them at Cafeteria, Pied a Terre, and La Buca in the wake of their Wild Game and Mushroom Festival. Chef Andrey Durbach (interview) has kindly given us a recipe to try at home…

Tagliatelle Boscaiola

*To clean the chanterelles, take a small paring knife and cut off the very bottom. Then gently using the blade peel off the skin from the stem of the mushroom. With a brush, or your knife and some patience, shake brush and peel off the little bits of dirt hiding in the crevices on both the top and bottom

Ingredients

1 thick slice pancetta (Italian bacon), diced

1 tblsp each of diced celery and onion

1 tblsp each of butter and olive oil

1 generous handful of chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed (about a cup)

2 sage leaves, torn

1 oz brandy

2 oz tomato sauce

2 oz brown veal stock or chicken stock

3 oz whipping cream

1 tblsp chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

1/4lb Fettucini, Linguini, or Tagliatelle

Parmesan cheese (for serving)

Method

Bring a large pot of water to a boil with a good pinch of salt.

Cook pasta to package directions and strain.

Meanwhile, heat butter and olive oil over high heat in a medium sauté pan

Briefly sauté pancetta, celery and onion

Add sage and mushrooms, and cook until softened

Add all liquid ingredients to mushrooms, and bring to a boil

Add chopped parsley and season to taste

Add cooked pasta to sauce, and allow all ingredients to cook together until pasta is well coated

Place all cooked ingredients on plate. Sprinkle (not drown!) with Parmesan cheese to serve.

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Claire Lassam is a baker, blogger, and freelance writer based in East Van. She has been cooking and baking her way through the city for nearly five years, working in restaurants ranging from Cioppino’s to Meat & Bread. She currently toils at the soon-to-open Cadeaux Bakery in Railtown and runs the baking blog  Just Something Pretty.

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