Mushroom recipe: How to make chanterelle pesto
This recipe mixes the Swedish and Italian cuisine and comes up with something absolutely delicious.
Swedes love picking wild mushrooms in late summer and autumn, and there's no mushroom as loved as the golden, delicious chanterelles (kantareller). If you don't want to go foraging, you can also get them in the supermarket. Anna Bonde-Mosesson shares one of her recipes with John Duxbury's Swedish Food site.
Summary
Serves: 6
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 15 minutes
Total: 30 minutes + 10 minutes standing time
Tips
- Use 45 g (2 oz) of dried chanterelles if you can't find fresh. Soak them in cold water for about 30 minutes (or in hot water for 20 minutes), then drain them thoroughly and use as fresh.
Ingredients
250 g (9 oz) chanterelles (girolles)
60 g (2 ¼ oz) pine nuts (about a third of a cup)
100 ml (3 ½ fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil (a generous third of a cup)
1 small onion, roughly chopped
100 g (3 ½ oz) parmesan, grated (preferably fairly mild)
1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 small garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Carefully clean the chanterelles until all dirt is removed. You can do this with a mushroom brush, a pastry brush or with damp kitchen paper.
2. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the pine nuts and cook, stirring continuously, for 2-3 minutes until just beginning to brown. Remove from the heat and leave to one side.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in the frying pan over a high heat until hot. Add the onion and fry, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes, until softened. Reduce the heat, add the chanterelles and fry for a further 5 minutes, until tender. Remove from the pan and leave to one side for 10 minutes.
4. Put the mushrooms and onion into a blender or food processor. Add the toasted pine nuts, parmesan, parsley, garlic and the remaining olive oil. Blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add a little more olive oil if the pesto is too stiff. When cold, transfer to clean jar and store in a fridge – it keeps for up to two weeks.
Serving suggestions
1. Serve on knäckebröd as an apperitif.
2. Serve with some pasta.
3. For a real treat, top some pasta tossed in chanterelle pesto with fried chanterelles.
Recipe published courtesy of John Duxbury, founder and editor of Swedish Food.
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See Also
Swedes love picking wild mushrooms in late summer and autumn, and there's no mushroom as loved as the golden, delicious chanterelles (kantareller). If you don't want to go foraging, you can also get them in the supermarket. Anna Bonde-Mosesson shares one of her recipes with John Duxbury's Swedish Food site.
Summary
Serves: 6
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 15 minutes
Total: 30 minutes + 10 minutes standing time
Tips
- Use 45 g (2 oz) of dried chanterelles if you can't find fresh. Soak them in cold water for about 30 minutes (or in hot water for 20 minutes), then drain them thoroughly and use as fresh.
Ingredients
250 g (9 oz) chanterelles (girolles)
60 g (2 ¼ oz) pine nuts (about a third of a cup)
100 ml (3 ½ fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil (a generous third of a cup)
1 small onion, roughly chopped
100 g (3 ½ oz) parmesan, grated (preferably fairly mild)
1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 small garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Carefully clean the chanterelles until all dirt is removed. You can do this with a mushroom brush, a pastry brush or with damp kitchen paper.
2. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the pine nuts and cook, stirring continuously, for 2-3 minutes until just beginning to brown. Remove from the heat and leave to one side.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in the frying pan over a high heat until hot. Add the onion and fry, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes, until softened. Reduce the heat, add the chanterelles and fry for a further 5 minutes, until tender. Remove from the pan and leave to one side for 10 minutes.
4. Put the mushrooms and onion into a blender or food processor. Add the toasted pine nuts, parmesan, parsley, garlic and the remaining olive oil. Blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add a little more olive oil if the pesto is too stiff. When cold, transfer to clean jar and store in a fridge – it keeps for up to two weeks.
Serving suggestions
1. Serve on knäckebröd as an apperitif.
2. Serve with some pasta.
3. For a real treat, top some pasta tossed in chanterelle pesto with fried chanterelles.
Recipe published courtesy of John Duxbury, founder and editor of Swedish Food.
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