Dried Ceps (Porcini) Mushrooms 100g Bag

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To cook: Fry in butter over a high heat or grill, brushed with olive oil for 5-10 minutes, sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley and garlic. Chanterelle Ecology –Ceps are Mycorrhizal fungi, working with their tree partners by helping in their uptake of water, phosphorus, nitrogen and zinc in return for energy from photosynthesis in the form of sugars. Carbon sequestration by fungi is often an overlooked area of climate science. Ceps, and boletus species in general, can be important food and habitat to insects, slugs, rodents and I’ve even heard of deer nibbling on them. This fascinating paper shows that individual mushroom species can have specific relationships with individual insect species. In the case of ceps, (mostly) flies of the pegomya genus, and (some) fungal gnats of Sciaridae family use them as food home & nursery for their larvae. It has been postulated that insects could play a role in the reproductive strategies of some fungi (beyond the obvious stinkhorns) and who knows what other useful interactions they have with complex fungal lifecycles? The evolution of veils/rings ( annulus), webs ( cortina) and slime on the underside of some mushroom species is a direct defence to deter insects before spores have matured. Some slow growing fungi such as chanterelles deter insects chemically ( read the science of this here). That ceps have evolved no such strategy suggests to me that they they are happy partners with insects as well as trees! It seems likely that their very aromatic deliciousness has evolved to attract insects… And maybe humans too? Ceps can also play host to other fungi, notably the bolete eater fungus Hypomyces chrysospermus, and appear to have complex relationships with Fly agaric ( amanita mascaria), the miller ( Clitopilus prunulus) and peppery boletes ( Chalciporus piperatus) – more on which below. There are two main categories of mushrooms - the familiar cultivated types such as button, chestnut and flat and the more exotic looking wild varieties such as ceps and chanterelles. To prepare: Scrape the spongy underside away before cooking (it goes soggy) and wipe clean with kitchen paper. Edibility – 5/5– firm young ceps are one of the tastiest wild foods, and extremely versatile. Older specimens are best dried, after which their flavour intensifies.

Drain the churros on a paper towel and, while still warm, roll them in cinnamon sugar. Serve warm with room-temperature cajeta in a bowl on the side. Four victims of the bolete-eater fungus and one good-looking cep for drying (as it still has plenty of fungal gnat larvae in it) Place the dried ceps in a jug and fill with 1 litre of boiling water, then add the saffron. Stand for 10 minutes. Transfer the dough to a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Paddle on a low speed. Begin to incorporate the eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is mixed thoroughly before adding more. This should only take a few minutes. Keep scraping down the side of the bowl to ensure the dough is fully incorporated. It’s true that that misidentification is a rather surprising mistake, but I think the fact it did happen, and the consequences – if it is true one of the party only ate a few mouthfuls and nevertheless required a kidney transplant within a few years – is quite enough to explain why many of us who quite happily eat wild fruit are extremely scared of eating wild mushrooms!

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To cook: Grill or fry sliced portabellinis in a little butter for 5-6 minutes. To bake, top with butter or a savoury stuffing and place in an ovenproof dish with 4 tbsp cold water, cook in a preheated oven at 190C, gas mark 5 for 45 minutes or until tender. Shiitake

Dollop some creme fraiche on a plate or platter, pile some crisps on top, sprinkle with cep powder and then either finely slice the truffle on top using a mandoline or truffle shaver or grate using a Microplane. Be generous! Uses: Portabellini mushrooms can be sliced and eaten raw in salads or lightly cooked and included in soups, pasta dishes, casseroles or sauces. They can also be stuffed and baked. Add all but the last spoonful (which may be gritty) of the mushroom liquid to the onion mixture and reduce until it’s almost gone. Combine the onion with the mushrooms, and season. Make a cep powder by popping a handful or 2 of dried ceps into a blender – a Nutribullet would be ideal for the job – and blitz until you have a fine powder. For the citrus cream, mix the yogurt with lemon zest and juice, thyme and dill, and season to taste with salt and pepper.These have a strong taste and a meaty texture, they have a similar appearance to a button mushroom but are a darker colour. The mushrooms should be open, but not too flat, exposing the pink to dark brown gills on the underside. Available all year. You can play with the flavours here – using dried seaweed (nori or dulse) instead of ceps and trout or salmon roe instead of truffle makes an equally delicious combination. These creamy-yellow mushrooms are a distinctive frilly trumpet shape with a slightly rubbery texture. They have a firm flesh with a subtle, fruity flavour. Available all year. To prepare: Wipe the mushrooms with a kitchen towel and trim the end of the stems. Cook them whole or cut or tear into lengthways strips.

Remove the parchment and beans and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes, or until the base is dry and lightly coloured. Trim any overhanging pastry from the tart and set aside. These large mushrooms are matured for longer to achieve a deliciously meaty flavour. They are grown on Dutch farms using a straw-based compost and are exclusive to Waitrose. Available all year. Porcinci are wild mushrooms native to the Alpine regions of Italy and France (where they are known as ceps). They have a distinctive aroma and rich flavour. Fresh porcini are only available in late summer and autumn so the dried variety is more commonly used. Only a small amount of dried porcini, around 25-50g, is needed to add an intense flavour to a variety of savoury dishes. Waitrose sell dried porcini mushrooms in the Waitrose Cooks' Ingredients range. Cultivated or mixed wild fresh mushrooms can be used instead of porcini. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4 and line two baking trays with lightly oiled foil. Put the ginger, green chilli and cumin seeds into a pestle and mortar along with a small pinch of salt, bash to a coarse paste and leave to one side. Known as cèpes in France and porcini in Italy, these creamy yellow mushrooms have a good flavour and a velvet-like texture. They are quite meaty and have a spongy underside, rather than gills. Available all year.Fit a large star pastry tip (the width you prefer) into a reusable pastry bag. The dough is quite firm, so it needs to be a reusable bag – if you use a disposable pastry bag, it might tear. While the dough is still warm, pipe the churros onto a tray lined with parchment paper, making the logs about 2cm in length. Make sure the mini churros do not touch each other. If you’re making ahead, freeze them now on the tray.

Peel and halve the onions, then slice them into ½cm half-moon shapes. Put the oil into a large frying pan over a medium heat and, when hot, add the onions. Fry for around 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they’re translucent and just soft enough to cut with a wooden spoon. Next, make the filling. Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the butter and half the oil. When the fat is bubbling away, add both the soaked and fresh mushrooms, along with the parsley and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Toss the mushrooms around the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, until softened. A delicious combination of cep, chanterelle and fairy ring mushrooms which can be used in a range of recipes.

To prepare: Wipe the mushrooms clean with kitchen paper, trim the roots at the base and separate the stems before serving. Exotic medley I don’t know if in your country you can easily find ceps and if they are affordable. In France, ceps season in in Autumn, and they are really expensive. However, we can find dried ceps all year long. Jars of dried ceps might seem a budget but you only need a small quantity to flavor a whole dish. If you do a bit of math and look at the cost per serve, you’ll see that this dish is not that expensive. How to make a perfect French purée with a twist