Cheap, Sustainable, Delicious: Grilled Chanterelle Sandwiches
It’s fairly universal knowledge: Unless you know what you’re doing, you shouldn’t eat mushrooms you find outside. Some poisonous ’shrooms are aptly called by common names like Destroying Angel and Death Cap. And, yes, they’ll kill you. If you decide to start foraging for mushrooms, like I do, the ones you decidedly don’t want to eat are the first ones to learn about. Start by memorizing books like David Arora’s Mushrooms Demystified, the tome I go to any time I doubt myself in the woods. David’s descriptions are great, and he suggests, as I do, that you never eat a mushroom unless you’re absolutely sure of which one you’ve found. Death Cap and Destroying Angel are very common. I’ve come across them many, many times.
I’ve also found less poisonous mushrooms, like the Jack-O-Lantern, which are responsible for many cases of toxic hospital visits. You see, the Jack-O-Lantern is a chanterelle look-alike. They are a brilliant orange and have a floral, apricot perfume. The first time I found them I thought I’d struck fungal gold until I put them to a final test. I waited until it was dark and closed myself and the mushrooms in a windowless room. In a minute my eyes adjusted to the light, and the fungus started to glow an eerie green. Yup: The aptly named Jack-O-Lantern glows in the dark. As a general rule, you shouldn’t eat things that glow. These probably won’t kill you. You’ll just be so sick that you’ll wish you were dead.
Knowing this, one wonders why you’d even chance it. And sure, you could pony up the $30 a pound for fresh chanterelles, but once you learn how to spot them, you’ll find them all over the woods this time of year—free and ripe for the taking.
Here’s what to look for:
• Chanterelles grow up from the earth, not on rotting wood like their poisonous doppelgängers.
• Chanterelles grow singularly or in groups of two at most. Jack-O-Lanterns grow in large clusters with a common base.
• Chanterelles have veins, not gills. Jack-O-Lanterns have deep gills.
• Finally, chanterelles don’t glow in the dark; Jack-O-Lanterns glow in the dark. Again, don’t eat things that glow.
Now that you know how to hunt for them, you should eat some chanterelles too—they are amazingly delicious with their apricot-y, peppery flavor and an intense, meaty texture. They are one of the most delicious and sustainable treats that nature gives us. And when you forage for them, they’re free!
Grilled Chanterelle Sandwiches
Makes 2
1/2 pound fresh chanterelle mushrooms
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ciabatta rolls, halved
1 garlic clove, halved
4 swiss chard leaves
1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar
Preheat the grill.
Toss the mushrooms in a cast iron skillet with the oil and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Place the skillet over direct heat and cover the grill. Cook the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and browned in spots. Remove the skillet from the grill and push the mushrooms over to one side of the skillet. Place the cut sides of the rolls in the skillet and press them so they suck up the oil like a sponge. Grill the rolls, cut-sides-down, until they are crisp, about 2 minutes. Rub the cuts sides of the rolls with the garlic.
Roll the Swiss chard up in a stack, like a cigar, and cut into thin ribbons. Toss the chard with the mushrooms and lemon, then season to taste with salt and pepper and place on the rolls.
Related stories on TakePart:
• An Eco-Wonder: Packaging Made of Mushrooms
• Body-Eating Mushroom Death Suit Spares Earth from Our Inner Toxins
• Jane Says: Mushrooms Don’t Just Taste Good—They Fight Cancer Too
Original source: takepart.com
