Best Wild Mushrooms In Parchment With Wild Mint Recipes

WILD MUSHROOMS COOKED IN PARCHMENT WITH FRAGRANT HERBS AND PANCETTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450. Brush mushrooms well with a damp cloth to remove dirt or grit, do not soak in water. Slice mushrooms into 1/2-inch thick slices, set aside. Heat a medium skillet, add butter, pancetta and shallots and cook over medium heat until pancetta renders most of its fat and shallots are softened. Remove shallot mixture from pan and cool. in a large bowl, add mushrooms and shallot mixture together with the herbs, lemon juice and olive oil, season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Fold a full sheet of parchment paper in half, cut an elongated heart shape using the entire width of the paper. Add 1/6th of the mushroom mixture to the bottom side of the parchment. Beginning at the center of the heart, begin making well creased folds, continue around the heart until package is completely enclosed. Bake just before serving in 450 oven about 5 minutes or until package has puffed up and is golden brown in color. Open in front of your guests with small scissors or paring knife.

SAUTEED WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Brush the caps of each mushroom with a clean sponge. Remove and discard the stems. Slice the small mushrooms thickly and cut the large ones in a large dice.
• Heat the olive oil in a large (11 - inch) Dutch oven or saucepan. Add the shallots and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until the shallots are translucent. Add the butter, mushrooms, salt, and pepper and cook over medium heat for 8 minutes, until they are tender and begin to release their juices, stirring often. Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Toss in the parsley, sprinkle with salt, and serve warm.

MUSHROOM AND WILD RICE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• In a large bowl, beat the egg with the feta. Stir in the mushroom ragoût, chopped herbs and 1/2 cup of the cooked rice. Add a little freshly ground pepper.
• Combine the melted butter and olive oil in a pyrex measuring cup or microwave-safe bowl, heat very slightly at 50 percent power and stir together. Place 8 sheets of phyllo dough on your work surface. Cover with a dish towel and place another, damp dish towel on top of the first towel. Each time you take a piece of phyllo from the pile, replace the towels so that the phyllo doesn't dry out. Place a sheet of parchment on your work surface horizontally, with the long edge close to you. Take a sheet of phyllo from the pile and lay it on the parchment. Brush the first sheet of phyllo lightly with the butter and olive oil mixture and top with the next sheet. Continue to layer all eight sheets, brushing each one before topping with the next one.
• Brush the top sheet of phyllo dough with the butter and olive oil mixture. Spread the remaining wild rice over the surface, leaving a 3-inch margin at the bottom and a 2 1/2 inch margin at the top and on the sides. Spread the mushroom mixture over the rice. Fold the bottom edge of the phyllo up over the filling, then fold the ends over and roll up like a burrito. Using the parchment paper to help you lift the strudel, place both the parchment paper and the strudel on a baking sheet with the seam side down. Brush with butter and olive oil and make 3 or 4 slits on the diagonal along the length of the strudel.
• Place the strudel in the oven and bake 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, brush again with the butter and olive oil, rotate the pan and return to the oven. Continue to bake for another 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes and preferably for 30. Serve warm. Reheat in a medium (325 degrees) oven if the strudel loses its crispiness before you are ready to serve. It will crisp up in about 10 minutes.

WILD SALMON, ASPARAGUS, AND SHIITAKES IN PARCHMENT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Cut four 12-by-17-inch pieces of parchment. Fold each in half crosswise to make a crease, then unfold and lay flat. Toss mushrooms, asparagus, and scallions with oil in a large bowl. Sprinkle with lemon zest and season with salt and pepper.
• Remove asparagus from mixture and divide evenly among parchment pieces, creating a bed of spears on 1 side of crease. Top each with 1 piece of fish, then with mushroom mixture. Drizzle each serving with 1 tablespoon water. To close, fold parchment pieces over each serving; make small overlapping pleats to seal the open sides and create 4 half-moon-shaped packets.
• Bake packets on 2 baking sheets 9 minutes. Carefully cut open packets with kitchen shears (steam will be released). Serve fish, asparagus, and mushrooms with lemon wedges for squeezing.

WILD MUSHROOM PIROSHKI

Steps:

• In a large pan over medium heat, saute the shallots in the butter until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste, and continue to saute until mushrooms give up their liquid, about 4 more minutes. Add the cognac and continue to cook until liquid has been reduced to a glaze, about 5 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Roll out the puff pastry to 1/8 inch, and cut into 2 1/2-inch squares. Place one teaspoon of filling in the center of each square. With a pastry brush, apply a little ice water to two opposite corners of the square and bring them together. Crimp the edges to seal. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper; place piroshki on sheet, with center points tucked under.
• Beat together the egg yolk and cream, and lightly brush the tops of the piroshki with egg wash. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until puffed and golden brown.

WILD MUSHROOM FRITTATA WITH FRESH MINT

Steps:

• Position oven rack 8 inches from broiler heat source; preheat broiler. Heat oil in 10-inch-diameter nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté just until golden, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in garlic. Cook until mushrooms are tender, about 6 minutes longer.
• Whisk eggs, grated Parmesan, fresh mint and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl to blend. Pour egg mixture evenly over mushrooms in skillet. Cook mixture until sides and bottom are set but center is still loose, running rubber spatula around sides of skillet occasionally but not allowing uncooked mixture to run under cooked eggs, about 3 minutes. Broil until mixture is just set on top and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Cool 2 minutes. Run spatula around sides of skillet to loosen frittata. Place plate atop skillet. Invert frittata onto plate. Cool frittata to room temperature. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Cover frittata and store at room temperature.) Cut frittata into wedges and serve.