My son found a huge chicken of the woods mushroom near our lakehouse in the Keweenaw, right before MTU Family Weekend, when we came up to visit him. I have never found this mushroom before; I've been looking for it ever since I got my wild mushroom foraging certification last spring. The proper name for this mushroom is Laetiporous....the one he found specifically is called Laetiporous cincinnatus.
Isn't it a beauty? The cool thing about Laetiporous is that it will keep growing back if you just cut the tips off of it. Much more mushroom to come!
I was searching for a recipe to make with it....my friend Gina suggested a Hungarian mushroom soup she once tasted that she still dreams about. I didn't have any paprika, so I improvised on a recipe I found for one online, and I came up with this truly delicious soup that was easy to make. I'm sure it would be great with any kind of mushroom, not just chicken of the woods.
Mushroom Soup with Lemon and Dill
1 large onion, diced
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 lb pound sliced fresh mushrooms
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon dill weed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
Juice from half a lemon
In a large saucepan, saute onion in butter for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook 4-5 minutes longer or until mushrooms are tender. Stir in the flour, dill, salt and pepper until blended. Gradually stir in the broth, milk and soy sauce. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Just before serving, stir in sour cream and lemon juice (do not boil).
Makes 4 servings
This sounds delicious, but how much paprika?
ReplyDeleteno paprika....I deleted that from the directions. Thanks for the catch!
ReplyDeleteThanx for the recipe. From what I've learned, the mushroom pictured is not Cincinnatus. It is Sulphurus. The sulphur yellow makes the difference
ReplyDeleteScott, thanks. You are correct that the yellow would identify it as sulphurus, but I think the picture makes it look more yellow than it actually was. It wasn't yellow at all in person so I've determined it to be cincinnatus. I had another person try to tell me it wasn't because it was growing on a tree, but that isn't consistent with the training I received. So I am sticking with cincinnatus. I am certified in Michigan in wild mushroom identification. Here is what we learned in our training http://www.midwestmycology.org/Mushrooms/Species%20listed/Laetiporous%20species.html. Anyway, I am glad you liked the recipe! I am lucky that my son is forester so he finds me great mushrooms when he is out in the field. Last fall, he found some Craterellus cornucopiodes in the U.P., which I had never seen before. Very cool. Happy hunting!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try this recipe Cynthia. It sounds delicious. I do however have paprika so would you suggest that I include it in the recipe? What I have is Laetiporus Sulphureus. I have never made a soup with this particular mushroom and am excited to try it!! Thx.
ReplyDeleteCan you tell us how much Paprika wall called for in the original recipe? I know you didn't have any and didn't add any but we might want to. Thanks.
ReplyDeletetry this one https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/hungarian-mushroom-soup/
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your recipe - just made it and it is fantastic. Haven't even added sour cream or lemon juice before trying :)
ReplyDeleteThe soup was absolutely delicious added 1/2 tsp of paprika and 1/2 tsp turmeric
ReplyDeleteDidn’t have dill so I used fresh thyme.. used Ghee instead of stick butter and 1%
milk.. going back out later to harvest more mushrooms A keeper