Oyster Mushrooms

I was driving to my friend's house today when I spied these beauties on the side of the road. Picture perfect fall oyster mushrooms growing out of a huge rotting sugar maple stump that had been taken down and dis-guarded. So with my trusty buck knife in hand, the kids and I jump out of the car and fill our basket with about 3 pounds of wonderfully fragrant fungus. I usually try to leave about 1/3 of the mushrooms intact so they can drop their spores and produce for future seasons, it's the moral thing for a forager to do.

Later that day we dumped our bounty into the sink to inspect for bugs and rinse off the dirt. This time of year when the temp hovers around 40 there aren't too many bugs to worry about unlike the summer oysters that are loaded with worms if you don't catch them right away. I got out my deep sautee pan and plopped a few heaping tablespoons of homemade sweet cream butter and melted it on low heat. Then, I sliced up about a pound of mushrooms and added them to the pan. Then I took out a few shallots I had cured from summers bounty and a few sprigs of rosemary that was still clinging to life in my yard. I added the sliced shallots, rosemary sprigs and coarse salt to the mushrooms and let it sweat out its liquid. I took this opportunity to start a pot of salted water boiling and grabbed a nice looking bag of Pappardelle that was begging for a delicate sauce.

When the mushrooms started to stick to the pan I knew it was time to add the alcohol. It brings out the flavors of food and captures aromas so nicely that it enhances any dish. I only had good french vermouth on hand but a good dry white or dry sherry would work in this instance. Once the booze is gone, I put an entire pint of local heavy cream. (Hey, I never said this was diet food, its special occasion food.) Why not indulge? Its not everyday you find perfect oyster mushrooms. while the cream cooks down a bit, I drain the pasta and VIOLA. There will not be leftovers trust me. And since the kids helped find and collect these mushrooms they are actually excited to eat dinner!

To recreate this at home you will need:

1-2 lbs of oyster mushrooms, the smaller the better depending on how mushroomy you want your sauce to be

1 lb wide pasta noodle

3 Tbsp unsalted butter

3 large shallots sliced thin

3 springs of rosemary - no need to chop, you just want to infuse the dish without overpowering it

1/2 cup white wine or 1/4 dry sherry or vermouth

1 pint of heavy cream, preferably not ultra pasteurized 

On low heat melt butter. Add sliced mushrooms and shallots and sweat until all mushroom liquid has evaporated, about 5-10 minutes. Once the mushrooms start to brown in the pan, turn the heat up to medium and add the alcohol. Evaporate completely. Then add the cream. Reduce heat and let the mixture return to a boil. Cook and drain pasta according to package directions and set aside in a shallow bowl. Once the cream has thickened slightly, about 5 more minutes, pour over pasta. Add plenty of coarse salt and fresh ground pepper. Garnish with extra sprigs of rosemary or chopped parsley. Try not to lick the bowl. :)