Don’t overlook this wild mushroom

Press, 2 July 1985, Page 16

Don’t overlook this wild mushroom

Food & Fable

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David Burton

Most Kiwis are still highly suspicious of any wild mushroom other than the common field mushrooms. I heartily applaud such conservatism; I also praise the Good Lord, who made all things bright and beautiful, for bestowing such a revolting slimy cap on the Pine Bolete, ‘ or Boletus granulatus. Otherwise I might be robbed of a rich supply virtually at my front doorstep. If everybody knew how delicious they really are, there is no way I would be able to collect more than four kilograms in less than half an hour, as I did the other day. As initiates will already know, boletus granulatus is of the same family as the

fabled cep (boletus edulis), among the most prized, if not the most prized, of all wild mushrooms in France and Italy. Visiting village markets in rural France last year, I was staggered at the prices being asked and happily paid for these mushrooms. All the family Boletaceae are readily identifiable by their underside, which instead of gills, consists of a mass of closely packed

tubes, or pores. These closely resemble a sponge not only in form, but also in their yellowish tan colour. The straw yellow to dark brown caps grow up to 7.5 cm across.

Despite a story that the evil Agrippina used a boletus mushroom to poison the Emperor Claudius, the fact is that none of the family are lethal, although some may cause stomach upsets, particularly those with reddish or purple tinged pores. Avoid too those which taste peppery or bitter. There are three varieties found in New Zealand, probably all introduced, and all associated with a particular tree, as their names suggest: the Larch Bolete (b. elegans), the Birch Bolete (b. scaber) and the one we are concerned with here, the Pine Bolete (b. granulatus). In my experience it seems to favour the shelter of younger pines, and a southerly location. . Unfortunately, the mushrooms are still too often riddled with insects. ■ Pine Boletes are best dried and reconstituted before use; indeed, I cannot recommend they be cooked fresh, for although they may seem firm enough as they are sliced, as soon as tjjey

are heated they turn unpleasantly slimy. Besides which, drying seems to concentrate their flavour. This can be done as follows: wash the mushrooms and peel them (watch your fingers for stains), slice stem and all and place on paper towels over newspaper on an oven tray. Place more paper and another oven tray over the top, and flip the whole thing over and replace the paper as it becomes wet. Now arrange the slices on oven racks, and leave to dry with the oven set at its lowest temperature (about 50deg C) with the oven door jammed open with the handle of a wooden spoon. They will need about 15 hours and are ready when they break as they are bent over.

If they are at all pliable they are liable to develop a mould with keeping. To reconstitute, pour boiling water over them and leave for 20 minutes, shaking the clusters from time to time to encourage grit to fall to the bottom of the bowl.

The dried mushrooms can be used for any Continental recipe calling for ceps (or porcini — “piglets" — as they are known in Italian), such as:

Mushroom risotto (Risotto ai Funghi) Dried Chinese mushrooms can also be used here. For the fresh mushroom method, see below, ‘a cup (packed) dried mushrooms 2 T olive oil 2 T butter 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 small onion, chopped salt and pepper Pi cups long grain rice '/i cup white wine 3 cups chicken stock ‘A cup grated par.mesan cheese Reconstitute the mushrooms, using the boiling stock (decant carefully after use to catch any grit). Chop the mushrooms roughly. oil and butter in a

pot, heat and add the garlic and onion, cook several minutes until transparent, then sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and add the rice. Stir a minute or so until the rice is transparent. Add the wine and a cup of stock gradually, stirring all the time. Simmer, covered, until tender, adding more stock half a cup at a time as the moisture is taken up. Different types of rice will take different times to cook, but it should take 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the grated parmesan and serve. If using fresh mushrooms, allow 250 g and cook them separately at the beginning, in the oil only. Fry the onions and garlic in the butter, add the mushrooms and proceed as above.