In the Kitchen with Sigona’s featuring Chanterelle Mushrooms

These funnel-shaped mushrooms have a beautiful, golden color and an earthy, lightly fruity – almost apricot-like – flavor that only makes them more versatile and unique in a number of dishes. Here are a few suggestions:

Chanterelle and Cremini Mushroom Quiche

This recipe, adapted from Thomas Keller’s original recipe posted on www.foodandwine.com, is a delicious and unique way to use any combination of mushrooms. Chanterelles, in season now, lend a fantastic flavor to the dish. Active time: 90 mins. Total time: 5 hours, 30 minutes. Servings: 12.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon Sigona’s Fresh Press extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound Chanterelle Mushrooms, cleaned and diced
• 1 pound Cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 small shallots, minced
• 1 tablespoon thyme, chopped
• 3/4 cup shredded Emmental cheese (2 1/2 ounces)
• Buttery Pastry Shell
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
• Freshly grated nutmeg

Chanterelle mushrooms are available now at Sigona's!

Directions: Preheat the oven to 325°. In a very large skillet, heat the oil. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook over high heat, stirring, until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to moderate. Add the butter, shallots and thyme and cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms are tender, about 12 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper and let cool.

Scatter 1/4 cup of the cheese and half of the mushrooms evenly over the bottom of the Buttery Pastry Shell. In a blender, mix half each of the milk, cream and eggs and season with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, 1/8 teaspoon of pepper and a pinch of nutmeg at high speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Pour the custard into the pastry shell. Top with another 1/4 cup of cheese and the remaining mushrooms. Make a second batch of custard with the remaining milk, cream and eggs, plus the same amount of salt, pepper and nutmeg as before and pour into the shell. Scatter the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese on top.

Bake the quiche for about 1 1/2 hours, or until richly browned on top and the custard is barely set in the center. Let cool in the pan until very warm.

Using a serrated knife, cut the pastry shell flush with the top of the pan. Carefully lift the springform pan ring off the quiche. Cut the mushroom quiche into wedges, transfer to plates and serve warm.

Grilled Chanterelles with Lemony Swiss Chard

Here’s a quick recipe you’ll enjoy, courtesy of Fast and Delicious Recipes. Chanterelles are beautiful and exquisite; it’s hard not to love them!

Ingredients

• 7 tablespoons Sigona’s Fresh Press Extra Virgin Olive oil
• 1 lb. Chanterelle mushrooms; brushed clean using a paper towel or pastry brush
• 1 tablespoon freshly-ground black pepper
• Zest and juice of one lemon
• ½ medium red onion; thinly sliced
• 4 cups Swiss chard, cleaned, washed and spun dry
• Salt to taste

Directions:

Preheat grill. In a large mixing bowl toss chanterelles, 3 tablespoons of Sigona’s Fresh Press Olive Oil and black pepper to thoroughly coat mushrooms. Spread evenly over grill or under broiler and cook, turning often every minute or so until softened and lightly browned about 8-10 minutes. Heat remaining 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in sauté pan and add lemon zest and red onion. Cook over medium heat until onion is soft and translucent.

Toss in Swiss chard and lemon juice and remove from heat. Greens should still be quite raw. Remove hot chanterelles and place over greens in a sauté pan. Return to high heat and stir gently. Return to high heat and stir gently with tongs to wilt greens. Season with a dash of salt and pour mixture into a large serving bowl and serve immediately.

Carmelo’s Seared Steak with Sautéed Onions & Chanterelles

This recipe is my go-to for steaks, especially grass-fed beef steaks. We have an outstanding deal on fresh, wild Chanterelle mushrooms right now that would go perfectly with this recipe, too! Pair it with a bottle of Domaine Laurier 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon (a gold medal winner that you can get for $7.99 a bottle at Redwood City or for free at our Stanford store, while supplies last, when you spend $30 or more). I’m loving this wine, it’s a very light cab with a slight bit of oak up front and a light complex fruity finish.

What you’ll need:

• Marin Sun Farms Grass-Fed Beef Steak (available at our Redwood City store only)
• Yellow Onion
• Chanterelle Mushrooms
• Salt
• Pepper

Optional:

• Cream
• Sherry
• Beef Broth

Tenderize your steak by piercing it all over with a fork. Rub it with salt and let it sit out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. The longer it’s out, the more tender it will become.

In a cast iron skillet over high heat, sear meat over on each side for 2 minutes or less, depending on the thickness of the steak. We have these wonderful grass-fed Velvet steaks that are 8-10 ounces and should be seared no longer than 1  1/2 minutes on each side.

After they’re seared, transfer the skillet to a 350F oven and bake for about 10 minutes if it’s one of the thick top sirloin cuts. Bake it for 4-5 minutes if it’s a thinner steak. Of course, you can cook it as you please, too!

Remove it from the oven and transfer steak to a plate. Let it rest under a tent of aluminum foil for about 10 minutes. To the same skillet, add a teaspoon of olive oil, sliced onions and then the mushrooms. Stir in a little salt and pepper. Once they’ve sautéed and cooked down a bit, for about 5 minutes, pour the mix over your steak and enjoy.

…OR…

Remove the cooked onions and mushrooms and pour in 1/2 cup of sherry. Let it reduce by half over a high flame. Pour in about a 1/2- 3/4 cup of beef broth and let it reduce again. Then stir in a little butter and a tablespoon of cream. Reintroduce the onions and mushrooms to reheat.

For a nice presentation, use a slotted spoon to remove the onions and mushrooms; place them on the plate. Slice the meat against the grain and fan it out atop the bed of onions and mushrooms. Drizzle the steak with the remaining sauce.

Chanterelle Mushroom Risotto

The Chanterelle mushroom is one of the most distinctively-flavored mushrooms around. If you haven’t seen it already, we have a beautiful display of fresh-picked, local Chanterelles by the registers in the Redwood City store, and with it we recommend this recipe. It’s unbelievably delicious!

Ingredients:

• 3 TBL Sigona’s Fresh Press olive oil
• 1 TBL butter
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 pound Arborio rice
• 1 cup dry white wine
• about a quart of good chicken stock, heated and kept warm in a separate pan
• 2 cups chanterelle mushrooms, prepped as detailed below
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 or 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley for garnish
• salt and pepper to taste

Note: You can either sauté or roast the chanterelles. To sauté, chop the mushrooms and sauté in olive oil or butter until they are just starting to brown a little. Season with salt and pepper. To roast mushrooms, cut them into quarters, drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Roast for about 15 minutes at 450 degrees. Let them cool slightly and then chop them into smaller pieces before you add them to the rice.

Directions: In a large pot, melt the butter with olive oil and sauté the shallot until transparent. Add the rice and stir it until it is well coated and shiny. When it starts to sizzle, add the wine and then let it evaporate. Start adding the stock a ladle at a time, never drowning the rice; keep stirring. As the liquid begins to be absorbed, add another ladle of broth and stir. When about half of your broth is used, add the mushrooms.

Keep cooking, adding broth when the rice has absorbed most of it until the rice is cooked “al dente”, not soft but cooked through. The rice should not be dry but with its own “sauce”.  Add the cheese, and parsley, cover and let sit for 3 or 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.