Written by Adam McCrae
Disclaimer: Foraging mushrooms, while an exciting and fun activity, is not a game. Never eat any mushroom that has not been 100% identified as edible by someone qualified to do so. Always cook wild mushrooms thoroughly, and try a very small amount your first time eating a species to test for personal intolerance. (Eat 1-2 bites, wait 24 hours). Do NOT trust any app to ID mushrooms for you.
Heyo, Fungi Fans! Looking for a delicious way to mix up the menu with your foraged mushrooms? These decadent appetizers are the perfect way to do so! Toasted baguette topped with your mushrooms of choice in a rich, cream-based sauce is a surefire hit with any mushroom fan... and even those who are averse to mushrooms may enjoy this dish, as the finely chopped mushrooms won't cause as many texture issues.
This recipe is very versatile, and can be used with pretty much every edible mushroom I can think of. Just adjust your cooking methods for the individual species as necessary.
No need to jump to the recipe, we're getting right into it. You don't need to read bunch of unrelated fluff to make bruschetta, and I don't need to waste my time writing it. 🥰
Wild Mushroom Bruschetta:
Directions:
1: Preheat oven to 400F for toasting the baguette. Mince garlic and shallot. Pluck a teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves. Heat a small pan over medium heat with a tablespoon of butter. Add shallot, sweat until translucent. Add thyme, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add garlic, cook until fragrant but not browning too much. Remove from heat and reserve for later.
Sauteed shallots, garlic and thyme.
2. Finely dice or brunoise your cleaned mushrooms (see my blogs on Cleaning Foraged Mushrooms for tips with cleaning), keeping different species separate. Cook them individually in a medium pan over medium-high heat, technique dependent on species.
Brunoise Porcini mushrooms
Generally speaking: start mushrooms in hot pan with a touch of oil, stir and add a pinch of salt to help them release their own liquid. Simmer over med-high heat until the pan is dry on the bottom, then add a tablespoon of butter, a spring of both rosemary and thyme, more salt/pepper, and continue cooking until you have a nice brown sear over a good portion of your mushrooms. Crank heat to high, wait 30 seconds, then deglaze with a splash of white wine. Remove from heat and reserve for later. Remove rosemary and thyme sprigs before mixing into cream sauce.
Repeat in small batches for each species.
3. Thinly slice the baguette (up to 1/2"), rub/drizzle it with olive oil, and bake at 400F until golden brown. You can also rub a fresh, peeled garlic clove on it at this point for an extra blast of flavor.
4. Add heavy cream and shallot/garlic mixture to the pan you've been cooking mushrooms in. Bring to a simmer, then reduce by half on medium-low heat. Season with salt and pepper, add cooked mushrooms. Add parmesan, if desired. (I don't think it was necessary) Adjust for texture: add more cream to loosen it up, continue to cook to make it thicker. **Season to taste. (Factoring in the sea salt finish, if applicable)**
Reduced cream mixture with previously sauteed mushrooms added.
5. Serve hot, placing mushroom mixture atop the bread slices. Finish with more fresh thyme and a touch of Maldon sea salt.
6. Enjoy. It's quite good.
Finished product. It went straight from this photo into my mouth. No regerts.
You may have noticed the lack of external advertising on this page. That's because we're awesome. Instead of choking your screen with ads, I'm just going to put this small reminder here at the bottom of the recipe: we sell mushroom artwork. Buying it is an amazing way to support us. It is drawn by my wife, and available on a wide variety of high quality products such as Laminated Stickers or 20oz Travel Tumblers.
