At the end of last summer, after I had harvested and eaten many chanterelles, I decided to dry a bunch out. The drying process went great and they mushrooms kept very well all winter. As it turns to spring here in VT, I suddenly got the hankering to cook with those dried chanterelles. I basically made a gravy out of them to spoon over some mashed potatoes. The result was a total hit, and proved to be a great use for dried chanterelles!
How to make mushroom cream sauce with Chanterelles.
There are so many great ways to cook with chanterelles, however this gravy like red wine, cream sauce is both unique and delicious. I have found it to also be a great way to cook with dehydrated chanterelles in particular, since you can use the water you use to reconstitute the mushrooms to help make the sauce. This helps preserve all that delicious flavor, making sure you don’t lose an ounce of that amazing chanterelle taste while reconstituting the dried mushrooms.
1. If you are using dried chanterelles, the first step will be to reconstitute the mushrooms in some warm water. If you are using fresh mushrooms, you can skip this step. To reconstitute the mushrooms, put them in a bowl and add just enough water so that they are more or less fully submerged. Let them soak in the water for a couple hours, or until they are soft and squishy to the touch.
2. Cut up a leek or two (I use leeks since they are milder than onions, as to not detract from the chanterelles) and begin to sauté them in butter over medium heat for 10 minutes.
3. Next add the reconstituted chanterelles into the pan with the water they have been sitting in. The water will be orangish now and have a wonderful mushroom flavor to it.
4. Let the leeks and mushrooms simmer with the water for another 15 minutes. Turn the heat up to medium high and let some of the water evaporate out. When done it should look like this.
5. You can now add a bit more butter and or olive oil. I like to use both at this step so I don’t end up using an obscene amount of butter. Let it all cook down over medium heat till it starts to brown and stick to the pan.
6. Now add in the red wine while the pan is hot in order deglaze the pan. Add just enough to coat the entire bottom of the pan you are cooking in. Make sure you scrape up all the good bits of flavor that are stuck to the pan!
7. Let the mushrooms and leeks simmer for a few more minutes before adding the heavy cream to the pan. Now cook the whole mixture, stirring regularly for another 5 minutes over medium low heat.
8. And there you have it, just spoon over some mashed potatoes and you have an amazingly delicious chanterelle cream sauce or gravy!
