September, October and November are the golden months for collecting wild mushrooms in Britain, with the exception of Scotland, where chanterelles and sometimes ceps are already available in August, depending on weather conditions.
At the 30th anniversary of the Princes Trust Party held some time ago in Buckingham Palace garden, I briefly met the Prince of Wales who, with enormous enthusiasm, told me with a smile that he had found porcini (ceps) in Balmoral’s gardens for the first time in July. Which is extraordinary and perhaps the only benefit of global warming.
However, over the next months less exalted mortals will have the opportunity to go mushroom picking, providing they have the mycological knowledge or go with an expert.
In my chosen recipes I indicate a cultivated mushroom alternative so that everyone can use them. But finding your own mushrooms is exciting and adds romance and flavour.
You can, of course, make this recipe with just porcini: fresh are best but dried ones also work well. The difference is comparable to a real espresso and an instant coffee, so it’s up to you.
Ingredients
Serves 4
Prep 10min, plus 30min soaking
Cook 40min
300g fresh ceps, cleaned weight, sliced
55g dried morels, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
1.5 litres chicken or vegetable stock
2tbsp olive oil
20g butter
1 medium onion, finely sliced
350g carnaroli, vialone nano or arborio rice
Salt and pepper to taste
To finish
55g butter 55g parmesan, finely grated
METHOD
Prepare the mushrooms, reserving the morel and soaking water for use at another time.
Trim the end of the morel stalks at the base and discard. Heat the stock to a gentle simmer. Heat the oil and butter in a large pan, then fry the onion gently until soft. Add the morels and saut? briefly. Add the rice and stir it thoroughly so that each grain is coated with oil and slightly toasted. Now start to add the hot stock, ladle by ladle, to the pan. Every time you add a ladleful, make sure that it is fully absorbed before adding the next.
Stir the mixture constantly to avoid its sticking to the base of the pan and to create a creaminess when the starch is exuded from the grains.
After ten minutes’ cooking, add the sliced ceps. Continue to cook and stir until the rice is al dente. The result should be a moist, but not brothy, dish: this should take about 18 minutes to achieve. To finish the dish, remove from the heat, season and stir in the butter and parmesan.
Serve immediately.
From the Complete Mushroom Book (Quadrille, £14.99) Website: www.carluccios.com