Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen

Wild mushrooms with lemon and nutmeg

It is time! For wild mushrooms! One of our favorite meals in autumn. We prefer it pretty simple, with either an omelette or a risotto or, as in this case, a crusty baguette. Bolets and girolles are sautéed in olive oil, a little knob of butter and served with lemon juice, nutmeg and a persillade(mix of shallots, garlic and parsley. It speaks of autumn and forest and cool days. And what else is autumn about after all.

I dont give exact quantities because it depends on the type of mushrooms you have and on your appetite. I used about 200g.

Bolets and girolles wild mushrooms

Recipe:

  • About 200g mix of different wild mushrooms like girolles, chanterelles, trompettes de mort, bolets, cepes and whatever safe edible ones you can find in the woods or on the market.
  • 1 onion or two shallots
  • A bouquet of fresh parsley
  • 1 big clove of garlic
  • juice of half a lemon
  • nutmeg
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil
  • knob of butter
  1. Clean the mushrooms with a brush or rinse under running water and dry immediately with a dry towel.
  2. Melt the butter along with olive oil in a pan.
  3. Add the mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms are almost tender and caramelized.
  4. Chop the onion or shallots and garlic and add to the mushrooms. Sauté for another few minutes until soft and translucent and the mushrooms caramelized.
  5. Add the chopped parsley, lemon juice and grated nutmeg to taste.
  6. Season with salt and pepper.
  7. Serve warm with crusty baguette and butter.

Serves 2 people

Girolles washed and dried with a dry towel and the bolets cleaned with a soft brush while the stems are scraped with a knife.

Pinch of salt:

  1. Mushrooms shrink a lot when cooked, so get more than you think you need..
  2. Don’t soak mushrooms in water, they absorb water very quickly and get soggy. I prefer to use asoft brush.
  3. Make sure you pick edible safe mushrooms when you go pick in the woods, or take to your pharmacist for identification.
  4. Serve sautéed wild mushrooms with an omelette or a risotto or top off a mushroom soup with a mix of wild mushrooms.
  5. A venison pie is delicious with wild mushrooms.
Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen

Toasted country bread with goats cheese, prosciutto and figs.

This is the last of our figs. So why not use it for a recipe that involves a delicious country bread we all love. Homebaked of course, or like I did, buying it from our boulangerie(bakery) who bakes much better bread than I can ever do! We ate it as a late afternoon snack after we had a very meager lunch. Or you can have it for lunch served beside a green salad. It is so simple and quick, I’m almost too embaressed to post it, but if you’re like me and prefer simple and quick, but still delicious, this recipe is for you.

Recipe

  • Four slices of crusty country bread.
  • Goats cheese
  • 4 slices of prioscutto ham
  • 12 small figs or 8 large ones
  • honey
  • freshly milled pepper
  • roquette sprouts
  1. Toast the country bread on both sides.
  2. Leave to cool and spread or places slices of goats cheese on the toasts.
  3. Tear the prioscutto ham into pieces so you don’t pull the whole slice of ham off the bread with the first bite.
  4. Break open the figs and place on the prioscutto ham.
  5. Drizzle with honey, sprinkle with freshly milled pper and top off with some roquette sprouts.

Serves 4 people

Pinch of salt

  1. Serve as a lunch with a green salad and pungent vinaigrette.
  2. Use a baguette instead of country bread.
  3. Use ricotta instead of goats cheese.
  4. Use other fruits like peaches or plums or even strawberries instead of figs. See my post, Baguette with red fruit and parma ham
  5. Leave out the sprouts and place under the grill for a few minutes.

The Provencal market

If there is anything that I adore, it is browsing the provencal market with a basket in hand. Even if you go home with an empty basket, the ambiance and joy of a market is already a gift to take home. There is something for everyone, from fresh local produce to meat and cheese, flowers and clothes, leather and pottery, nik-naks and art. I bought some sunflowers from Carpentras, a huge bunch and it is on this high note that I say goodbye to summer !

à bientôt

Ronell