It’s time to take a walk on the wild side, fun-gi (pronounced “fun guy”)—that’s right it’s time for some mouth-watering mushroom recipes. We don’t mean the Alice in Wonderland or Grateful Dead concert kind either. We’re talking about some serious, gourmet flavorful wildness of shitake, morel, Portobello, enoki, chanterelle, porcini, boletes, oyster mushrooms, and many more. Mushrooms belong to the fungi kingdom, and though they’re not vegetables they provide similar benefits for the heart, complexion, hair, energy-levels, and keeping an overall lower weight. But whatever you do, don’t’ pick your own in the woods.
The key to experiencing the pleasures of wild mushroom fine-dining is to buy commercially grown and sold mushroom at your local food market. Just skim the news and you’ll find countless stories of people who picked mushrooms in the woods, ate them, and were poisoned. But no worries, your local grocery store is safe. “Of all the millions of pounds that go into commercial production, I’ve never heard of a single poisoning,” John Gottfried, a mycologist and a partner in Gourmet Garage, a discount market that supplies wild mushrooms to New York restaurants daily, told The New York Times. So here are 15 mushroom recipes that will drive you wild with their crazy fungi flavors.
1. Wild Mushroom Pâté
This perfect party spread is for goat cheese, mushroom and truffle oil lovers. Spread it on your favorite crackers or a baguette and watch your guests fight for the last morsel. You’ll need unsalted butter, shallots, garlic, white wine, a variety of wild mushrooms and a food processor.
Read Related: Crazy About Mushrooms!
2. Wild Mushroom Risotto
Piping hot risotto is the perfect dish for entertaining a table of six hungry people. You’ll need butter, white wine, vermouth, Arborio rice, parmesan and wild mushrooms such as cèpe [porcini], hen of the woods, chanterelle, or stemmed shiitake.
3. Wild Mushroom and Bulgur Wheat Cakes
Do you love veggie burgers? If so, this pancake of nature’s best includes porcini, chanterelle and chestnut mushrooms blended with bulgur wheat. You’ll also need an egg, onion, some vermouth, and fresh thyme. Serve with a crème fraiche, parsley, horseradish and lemon dressing.
4. Farfalle with Creamy Wild Mushroom Sauce
The texture and exotic, rich flavor might make this the best pasta dish you’ll ever make. It’s fast to prepare and truly restaurant quality. You’ll need farfalle, butter, mushrooms, onion, shallots, garlic, parmesan cheese, whipping cream and fresh parsley.
5. Rustic Mushroom Tart
Whether as a main course with a side of greens or cut into smaller pieces and enjoy it as an appetizer, it beats plain old mini pizzas. You’ll need ricotta cheese, goat cheese, fresh rosemary, butter, four cups of mixed wild mushrooms, leek, white wine, phyllo dough, extra-virgin olive oil, and breadcrumbs.
6. Wild Mushroom, Chicken & Bacon Risotto
Long to curl up on your couch with a bowl of comfort food? This winter dish filled savory flavors calls for dried porcini mushrooms, dessert chestnut mushrooms, roast chicken, smoked bacon, onion, white wine, parmesan, onion, Arborio rice, chicken stock and parsley.
7. Wild Mushroom Soup Recipe
In the mood for an earthy, creamy soup? Grab a baguette and get ready to soak up that flavor. You’ll need some porcini, crimini, stemmed shiitake, and button mushrooms. Then some chicken or vegetable broth, flour, low-fat milk, onion, olive oil, garlic, and fresh thyme.
8. Wild Mushroom Pizza
Entertaining the family in front of the television this Sunday? This gourmet pizza will be sure to wow them. Grab some salted butter, shallots, mixed wild mushrooms, coarsely chopped, dry white wine heavy cream, pizza dough, extra-virgin olive oil, and fresh tarragon or thyme leaves.
9. Wild Mushroom Sauté
Whether you serve it alongside greens, rice or on top of steak, this very easy and quick to make sauté will always add earthly elegance to the plate. You’ll need Italian parsley, sea salt, garlic, lemon juice, and two pounds of assorted fresh wild mushrooms. Try for chanterelles, morels, boletes, Portobello, crimini, oyster, and stemmed shiitakes.
10. Wild Mushroom Lasagna
After eating this highly gourmet lasagna, you might never want to go back to the old kind. This recipe requires a good day to prepare, but we promise you there is nothing else like it. You’ll need lasagna noodles, Sherry, thyme, zucchini, porcini mushrooms, white mushrooms, and ingredients for a béchamel sauce.
11. Mixed Mushroom Banh Mi
This east to make Vietnamese sandwich stars your favorite seasonal mushrooms: shiitake, enoki, and oyster mushrooms. You’ll need sesame oil, lemongrass, red chili, soy sauce, baguettes, peanut butter, cucumber, coriander, and sesame seeds.
12. Cornbread, Wild Mushroom, and Pecan Stuffing
Knock out your guests this Thanksgiving with a turkey stuffing like no other. You’ll need some chanterelle, oyster and shitake mushrooms, then some crumbled cornbread, pecans, shallots, celery, thyme, rosemary, white wine, heavy cream, and homemade chicken stock.
13. Wild Mushroom and Burrata Bruschetta
In a bowl, toss cremini and shitake mushrooms with garlic, rosemary, lemon zest and olive oil and let stand for an hour. Then grill the mix over high heat until browned. Brush bread with oil and grill it up. Then top the toasts with the mushrooms, a slice of burrata and eat!
14. Wild Mushroom and Mizuna Salad with White Truffle Vinaigrette and Sage
With some hearty Portobello mushrooms and chanterelles grilled with garlic in a pan first, then sprinkled with sage and dressed in sinful white truffle vinaigrette, you’ll forget that those mizuna leaves it’s all resting on, are good for your figure, too. Oh, don’t forget the bread.
15. Wild Mushrooms and Artichoke Dip
For this classic party dish with a wilder twist, you’ll need Portobello and shitake mushrooms and a can of artichoke hearts, mayonnaise, onion, celery, parsley, Parmesan cheese, cream cheese and garlic powder. Add mushrooms to an oiled skillet and sauté until tender. Combine mushrooms and remaining ingredients, and spoon mixture into a casserole. Then, take a dip!
