There are so many beautiful varieties of wild mushrooms to use in your cooking - the times of sticking to ordinary button mushrooms are long gone! At Fine Food Specialist we work with the very best suppliers to source the finest quality wild mushrooms to add to our extensive range. From spring varieties such as morels, through to autumnal yellow leg chanterelles, you are sure to find the perfect wild mushrooms for your recipe.
Mushrooms bring a touch of luxury to a dish
There are so many varieties of mushrooms, all with different textures, shapes, flavours and uses. However, they all bring one common quality to a dish: a sense of occasion. Whether it’s a simple brunch of beautiful golden girolle mushrooms on toast with a poached egg, or a risotto that you’ve spent half an hour gently tending, mushrooms are the ingredient that always bring the wow factor.
Truffles!
The ultimate wild mushroom has got to be the truffle. Whether they’re Alba white truffles, Perigord truffles or black truffles, a shaving of these special mushrooms will always bring the ultimate finishing touch to your recipe. Truffles are hard to cultivate because they form a special symbiotic relationship with tree roots underground, and they are highly prized for this reason, along, of course, with their unbeatable flavour. At Fine Food Specialist we sell truffles through every truffle season. Read the Fine Food Specialist Guide to Truffles to find out more.
Mushrooms add umami
Umami is the savouriness and depth of a dish, and ingredients with high amounts of glutamates are what bring this quality to your plate. Some mushrooms are higher in glutamates than others, with dried shiitake mushrooms topping the leaderboard. Simply rehydrate them in boiling water and add to soups, stews and other slow cooked dishes such as risottos for a hit of savoury intensity.
They look beautiful
There’s no doubt that part of the magic of using wild mushrooms in cooking is that they look so beautiful. Consider the magical, lacy white cauliflower fungus as an example: this woodsy tasting mushroom is always guaranteed to add some instant drama to the plate. Slice and pan fry or add to pasta or game dishes.
It’s nice to use a mixture
One of the best ways to make an impact when cooking with wild mushrooms is to use a mixture, for a variety of flavours and textures. Try combining grey and yellow leg chanterelles with trompette de la mort, for example.
Mushrooms can be paired with strong flavours
The meaty richness of mushrooms means they can be used with strong flavours, such as garlic and powerful woody herbs, such as thyme. Particularly intense wild mushrooms, such as pied bleu, are best matched with robust alliums, such as leeks.
Check out these other mushroom recipes from Drogo’s Kitchen
Venison and Shiitake Dumplings
Creamy Linguine with Yellow Leg Chanterelles
Hummus with Girolles and Spiced Butter
Make sure to check out our favourite mushroom dishes for autumn, too!
