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Fricassee of wild mushrooms

From Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets (BBC): http://www.raymondblanc.com/
At the age of seven, I was the perfect hunter-gatherer, following my father into the deep forest to find wild mushrooms. The success of the dish will depend on the quality and freshness of the produce. The best time for wild mushrooms is between July and October. The dish is simple to make, with marvellous heady flavours from the forest and lots of juice ready to be mopped up with a good piece of French bread. A rewarding easy dish, packed with flavours.. Serves 4

For the croutons
½ small French baguette
1 garlic clove, halved
For the mushrooms
400g/14oz mixed wild mushrooms (pied de mouton, girolle, chanterelle and trompette de la mort)
30g/1½oz unsalted butter
½ banana shallot or ¼ onion, peeled, chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled, puréed
100ml/3½fl oz dry white wine
4 pinches sea salt
4 pinches freshly ground black pepper
10g/½oz fresh flatleaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
1 sprig fresh tarragon, leaves only, finely chopped
2 sprigs fresh chervil, finely chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
200g/7oz tomatoes, quartered, seeds scooped out, finely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/320F/Gas 2.

2. For the croutons, cut the baguette into 3mm-thick slices and arrange in an even layer on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 2-3 minutes on both sides, or until golden-brown and crisp. Rub each slice of toast with the cut sides of the garlic clove. Set aside.

3. For the mushrooms, lightly brush the mushrooms to get rid of any remaining dirt or mud. Briefly wash the mushrooms in a large bowl of fresh water (for no more than 10-15 seconds (*1)) then lift them out and place onto a clean tea towel. Gently pat dry, then cut off the base of the stalks and discard.

4. Heat the butter in a pan over a medium heat until foaming, then add the shallots and garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Increase the heat to high, then add the pied de mouton mushrooms and cook for one minute. Add the white wine and cook for one minute, or until the liquid has reduced slightly (*2), then add the girolles. Cook for a further minute before adding the trompette de la mort (*3), herbs, lemon juice and tomatoes. Stir well. Add a splash of water if the mixture is becoming too dry, then season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

5. To serve, spoon the mushrooms into serving bowls and crumble over the croutons.

VARIATIONS: The mushrooms would be wonderful with some fresh pasta or you could cool them, roughly chop them and use as the filling for fresh ravioli.

Chef’s Notes: ( *)

*1 Ensure that the washing process is no more than 10 – 15 seconds maximum – if soaked for longer the mushrooms will absorb the water, which will destroy both taste and texture

*2 If you do not remove the alcohol the dish will be unpleasant – you require the wine in the recipe for its acidity and character but not its raw alcohol.

*3 If you add the trompettes de la mort too early they will discolour the sauce.