Marinated Chanterelles

My friend B and I have gone chanterelle hunting twice this summer, with amazing results. We've hauled home hefty grocery bags each time, and I have been experiment with how to prepare these golden yellow gems that take so much luck and persistence to find...it's all part of their charm. I have dehydrated some for winter soup stocks, and sautéed and frozen some for winter pasta sauces and risottos. I have dipped some, whole,  in egg and flour and fried them, and made omelettes with greens and garlic too...but this is my new favourite method for chanterelles - the marinated chanterelle. These are delicious cold, on their own, or heated up and added to pasta, etc.

I have also been using the liquid to sauté greens in for extra flavour!

I took this recipe from http://www.mssf.org/cookbook/chanterelle.html, and made it pretty much as written, except that I used extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic, and for the herbs added oregano and thyme as that's what was in the garden.

ps - a pound of chanterelles was, roughly, about 6 cups...

The biggest single patch that we found!

Marinated mushrooms ready for the plate.

Marinated Chanterelles

Paul is a well-known Berkeley chef. He recommends that these marinated chanterelles be eaten as appetizers or be heated and drained to serve over pasta. 1 cup peanut oil or light olive oil 1 pound chanterelles, cut into large slices (make sure they are dry--waterlogged mushrooms won't work) Marinade: 1/4 cup fine wine vinegar, balsamic or fruit vinegar 1 garlic clove, sliced thin 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard Pinch of fresh herbs (tarragon, savory, oregano, or marjoram) 1/4 teaspoon salt

In a sauté pan or skillet, heat the oil until it becomes very hot, then add the chanterelles. Toss them in the pan quickly for 3 to 5 minutes. Combine all the marinade ingredients. Add the chanterelles and the oil from the pan. Marinate the mushrooms for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator. This will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator. --Paul Johnston