Wild Mushrooms Cooked In Parchment With Fragrant Herbs And Pancetta Recipes

SAUTEED WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Brush the caps of each mushroom with a clean sponge. Remove and discard the stems. Slice the small mushrooms thickly and cut the large ones in a large dice.
• Heat the olive oil in a large (11 - inch) Dutch oven or saucepan. Add the shallots and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until the shallots are translucent. Add the butter, mushrooms, salt, and pepper and cook over medium heat for 8 minutes, until they are tender and begin to release their juices, stirring often. Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Toss in the parsley, sprinkle with salt, and serve warm.

WILD MUSHROOMS IN PARCHMENT WITH WILD MINT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Cut parchment paper into four 12-inch squares; set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine mushrooms, mint, garlic, and oil; season with salt and pepper and gently toss to combine. Divide mixture evenly between pieces of parchment paper. Fold top half of parchment paper over mixture to enclose, and staple edges to seal.
• Transfer parchment paper packets to a baking sheet. Place in the center of the oven and roast until mushrooms are soft and fragrant, about 25 minutes. Carefully open the mushroom packages and transfer the mushrooms to small warmed plates. Serve immediately.

ESCARGOT WITH WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Saute 1 chopped shallot with 1 tablespoon butter until the shallots are soft. Add the sliced mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms have released their liquid and it has evaporated. Set aside and keep warm.
• In a separate pan, saute the remaining chopped shallot in 1 tablespoon butter. Add the snails and the garlic to the pan and toss. Remove the pan from the heat and add the Cognac. Ignite the Cognac with a lighter or by tilting the pan carefully towards the open flame and letting it catch. Flambe the Cognac until it is almost reduced. Add the Cabernet, bay leaf, and thyme, and reduce the liquid in the pan by two-thirds. Pour the veal stock into the pan and let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes.
• After the snail mixture has simmered for 5 minutes, add in the mushrooms and remove from the heat. Whisk in the remaining butter and stir in the truffle oil. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and top with chives. Serve the snails divided between warm shallow bowls.

SAUTEED MUSHROOMS WITH HERBS

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook mushrooms, cap sides down, without stirring, until caps are caramelized, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Reduce heat to medium. Toss mushrooms, and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook until mushrooms are well browned, about 5 minutes more. Add garlic, butter, and thyme. Cook until garlic is golden and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. Add wine. Return skillet to heat, and cook until wine is evaporated, about 4 minutes. Garnish with parsley. Serve warm.

WILD MUSHROOM, POTATO & PANCETTA GRATIN

Steps:

• Put the garlic cloves, onion, bay leaves, thyme, double cream and milk in a pan. Bring slowly to the boil over a low heat, partially cover with a lid and cook for 20-30 mins until the onion is tender and the cream mixture slightly thickened. Turn off and leave everything to infuse for 1 hr.
• Strain the cream mixture into a jug (or bowl) and discard the herbs. Put the garlic cloves and onion in a food processor or blender and whizz until smooth - add a drop of the cream if it helps. Stir the paste back into the rest of the cream and season with 2 tsp salt.
• Put the pancetta in a cold frying pan and cook gently, over a low-medium heat so the fat melts into the pan, until the pancetta is really crispy. Lift out with a slotted spoon, add the butter and mushrooms and turn up the heat, frying the mushrooms, until golden and dry.
• Leave the skins on the potatoes and slice as thinly as possible. Grease a large baking dish with a little more butter. Layer up the potato slices, scattering over some of the cooked pancetta, the mushrooms and a little freshly grated nutmeg and pepper as you go. Finish by slowly pouring over the cream so that it settles among all the layers, then scatter over a few more thyme leaves. Cover with foil.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Bake the gratin for 1 hr, then remove the foil and bake for 35-45 mins more until golden and crispy on top. Poke a knife in to check the potatoes are tender, then leave for 10-15 mins to settle, before serving with a salad, if you like.