Some of Our Favorite Wild Harvest Recipes
- Quick Marinated Fiddleheads
- Steamed Fiddleheads With Wild Leek Greens
- Spring Wild Harvest Ragout With Fiddlehead Greens & Morels
- Scallops with Chanterelles and Port Wine Sauce
- Bricked Chicken with Wild Chanterelle and Asparagus
- Potato Gratin with Fresh Wild Chanterelles
- Morel Mushroom Soup
- Salmon Fillets With Morels
- Morel Sauce
Quick Marinated Fiddleheads
Refreshing All Year Long – Everyone loves these crunchy spiral morsels. Keeps well in refrigeration.
Ingredients:
- 5 lbs fresh fiddleheads
- 1 lb fresh wild leeks, ramps or shallots
- Fresh peppers – hot or mild to taste
- Fresh herbs (cut fine)- basil, tarragon, thyme, rosemary and chives.
- 5 cups apple cider or wine vinegar
- 5 cups extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp sugar salt to taste
Clean and rinse fiddleheads. Blanch fiddleheads in boiling water for 1 minute. Remove from heat, drain and rinse in cold water to cool them. Clean and cut up peppers, wild leeks and fresh herbs.
Pour vinegar over cooled fiddleheads in a non-reactive container. Add cut up peppers, wild leeks, herbs, sugar and salt. Stir to wet all ingredients. Add Olive Oil and stir again. Refrigerate for 24 hours before serving.
Steamed Fiddleheads With Wild Leek Greens
Ingredients:
- 1 pound Fiddleheads cleaned
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
- 3 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped Wild Leek greens
Steam the fiddleheads over boiling water for 5 minutes,or until they are crisp-tender. Drain, then chill in a bowl of ice and cold water to stop the cooking. When they have cooled transfer to colander to drain.
In a small bowl whisk together the yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, wild leek greens. Add salt and pepper to taste, whisking until the sauce is smooth. Serve the Fiddleheads topped with the sauce.
Serves 4 to 6
Spring Wild Harvest Ragout With Fiddlehead Greens & Morels
Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound fiddleheads, cleaned (link)
- 1/2 pound “baby” pattypan squash, trimmed
- 1/2 pound baby carrots, trimmed
- 3/4 cup shelled fresh peas
- 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
- 1/2 pound pearl onions, blanched in boiling water for 1 minute, peeled, and trimmed
- 2 thyme sprigs
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 pound fresh morels, cleaned and trimmed and sliced
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
Boil the fiddleheads in salted water for 4 minutes, or until they are crisp-tender. Drain and plunge in ice water to stop the cooking. When cool, drain in a colander. Repeat the process of boiling and cooling with the squash and the carrots. Boil the peas for 2 to 3 minutes, or until they are just tender, and drain them.
In a large heavy skillet combine 2 tablespoons of the butter, the onions, the thyme, the bay leaf and 1/4 cup of the broth and simmer the mixture, covered, for 5 minutes. Add the morels and 1/2 cup of the remaining broth and simmer the mixture, covered, for 10 minutes, or until the morels are tender.
Add the fiddleheads, the squash, the carrots, and the remaining 1/4 cup broth and simmer the mixture, covered, for 1 minute. Add the peas, the parsley, the mint, and the garlic and simmer, covered, for 1 minute.
Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, stirring until the butter is just melted. Discard the bay leaf and season with salt and pepper.
Serves 6
Bricked Chicken with Wild Chanterelle and Asparagus
This is a recipe best reserved for a day when you’re in the mood to “fuss” a bit. Still, the orange juice and wine work well to dress up a chicken and make it into a truly memorable experience. The bricks help to hold the moisture in the chicken, and to flatten it for a unique presentation.
Ingredients:
- 2 whole chickens, about 3 pounds each
- 2 masonry bricks, 2 or 3 pounds each, wrapped in aluminum foil
- 1 unpeeled orange, sliced into eight crescents
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced fine
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ cup olive oil
Sauce
- ½ cup orange juice
- ½ cup dry sherry or vermouth
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 bunches fresh asparagus spears, sliced diagonally, about 2 inches long
- 1 ½ pounds fresh chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned with a damp cloth and chopped into ½ inch pieces
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using kitchen scissors, remove the first and second joints from the wings of the two chickens and set aside. Stand the chicken upright, and using the scissors, cut down the length of the backbone on either side. Now lay the chicken flat and cut down the center of the breastbone. Now you should have two chicken halves. Repeat with the other chicken.
Mix the chopped sage, orange zest, cumin, cayenne and olive oil together to make the marinade. Coat all sides of all the chicken pieces with the marinade. Stack them, placing a crescent of fresh orange between each piece. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least three or four hours, or overnight.
In the meantime, roast the chicken backs and wing joints in a 325 F oven until they are golden brown. Depending on how high the sides of your roasting pan are, this may take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. The lower the sides of your pan, the faster your chicken will brown.
While the chicken is roasting, place the orange juice in a heavy saucepan over medium heat to simmer. Let it reduce in volume until it is syrupy. Add the sherry or vermouth, stirring constantly, and continue cooking for about five minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the roasted chicken backs and wings, lower to a simmer, and cook for one hour. Strain and reserve the sauce.
Place two twelve inch skillets on the stove at high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to each skillet, then place two chicken halves in each pan, skin side down. Cover each pair of chicken halves with one brick, then place in the oven. Roast for about 20 minutes, remove the bricks, and turn the chickens. Replace the bricks and roast for about 20 minutes more. Remove from the pan.
pide the chanterelles into two halves, placing half of them in each of the two hot pans which were just used for the chickens. Saute the mushrooms for a few minutes, until they begin to soften, then add the sauce. When the sauce boils, add the asparagus tips, cook for two minutes, and add salt if necessary.
Using a slotted spoon, place the mushrooms and asparagus onto four inpidual plates. Place one half-chicken on each plate, then spoon the sauce equally over each. Serve immediately.
Serves four.
Potato Gratin with Fresh Wild Chanterelles
Ingredients:
- 1 cup dried porcini mushrooms (or cepes)
- 1 quart boiling water
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 garlic clove sliced in half lengthwise
- 1 pound fresh chanterelles
- Salt to taste
- 5 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
- 2 tablespoons dry red wine
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 3 pounds potatoes cut into ½ inch slices
- 2 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
Place the dried porcini in a bowl and cover them with the boiling water. Let them soften in the water for about a half hour. Being careful to save the liquid, drain them through a strainer or sieve lined with cheesecloth, then squeeze them. Rinse thoroughly, then squeeze them dry and chop them coarsely.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and rub the inside of a three quart gratin dish with the cut side of the garlic clove. Combine the fresh chopped chanterelles with salt in a large, heavy skillet and cook over medium heat until they begin to release their moisture. This should take only one or two minutes, depending on the size and weight of the skillet.
Continue to cook the mushrooms while stirring them for about five minutes, or until most of the moisture has evaporated. Add three teaspoons of the olive oil, the chopped porcinis, the minced garlic, and the thyme. Continue to cook for a few minutes, until you can smell the garlic. Add the red wine and pepper, and cook, stirring, for a short time, or until the wine has been absorbed. Remove from heat and mix with the potatoes. Arrange the mixture in the gratin dish. Measure out three cups of the liquid reserved from soaking the porcinis and pour it over the mushroom and potato mixture.
Bake for about 90 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the top is crusty. Several times during baking, stir the potatoes from the bottom up to the top. When the top begins to turn golden brown, sprinkle with the cheese and the remaining olive oil. Continue baking until the top is a rich, golden brown and the cheese is bubbling.
Serves four to six
Scallops with Chanterelles and Port Wine Sauce
Because it is cooked with wine and wild mushrooms, this makes a very “special” light summertime dish. It’s an excellent change of pace from the standard barbecue fare, and can be prepared in minutes. Spinach salad tossed with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, a dash of walnut oil, red onion, and crumbled bacon makes an excellent accompaniment.
Sauce:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 chopped shallot
- 2 pounds chopped chanterelles
- 1/4 cup white port wine
- 1/4 cup chopped chives
Melt the butter in a skillet, then add the shallots and mushrooms. Cook over medium low heat for approximately 10 minutes, or until soft. Add the port wine and chives. Keep this mixture over a low heat, stirring occasionally, while you cook the scallops. If necessary, thin with additional port wine.
Scallops
- ½ cup butter
- 2 ½ pounds scallops
- coarsely ground black pepper
Rinse the scallops under cold water, then drain and pat dry. Melt the butter in a skillet and saute the scallops and pepper over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until the scallops turn white and firm. Add the prepared sauce to the scallops and mix. Heat through and serve piping hot over arborio or basmati rice.
Morel Mushroom Soup
The stock recipe yields 8 cups; there will be about 1 1/2 cups left over after you make the mushroom soup. To prepare the mushrooms for this soup, wipe them clean with a damp paper towel. You may need to rinse quickly to dislodge any dirt from crevices.
For chicken stock:
- 2 medium leeks, ends trimmed
- 4 pounds chicken wings, rinsed
- 3 quarts plus 3 cups cold water
- 2 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 large onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 6 fresh thyme sprigs
- 12 whole black peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
For wild mushroom soup:
- 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6 tablespoons minced shallots
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
- 15 ounces morels, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
- 6 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
- 1/8 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/3 cup finely diced peeled carrot
- 1/3 cup finely diced peeled turnip
- 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
Preparation of chicken stock:
Cut off dark green tops from leeks and reserve for soup. Cut white and pale green sections lengthwise in half. Rinse any dirt from leeks with cold water. Cut halves into 1-inch pieces. Place in 8- to 10-quart pot. Add chicken wings. Add water, carrots, onion, thyme, peppercorns and bay leaves. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 2 hours 15 minutes, occasionally skimming foam from surface.
Strain stock through fine sieve into large bowl. Chill stock until fat hardens on surface, about 2 hours. Spoon off fat and discard. Measure stock. If necessary, simmer in large saucepan until reduced to 8 cups.
Preparation of Morel Mushroom soup:
Bring 1/2 cup stock to simmer in saucepan. Add saffron; set aside to steep. Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add shallots and garlic; stir 1 minute. Add 1/3 of wild mushrooms and all of white mushrooms. Sauté until mushrooms release liquid, about 8 minutes. Add curry powder; sauté until mushrooms are tender, about 4 minutes. Add saffron mixture and 6 cups stock.
Simmer until mushrooms are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Puree cooked mushrooms and 1 cup mushroom broth in processor until almost smooth. Return mushroom puree to saucepan with broth. Simmer soup 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Sauté remaining Morels in butter over medium-high heat until tender, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into 4 shallow bowls. Top with sautéed Morels and serve.
4 servings
Salmon Fillets With Morels
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 5 shallots, minced
- 18 ounces morels, trimmed, cleaned and sliced
- 3/4 cup bottled clam juice
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 3 tablespoons whipped cream
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon or 1/2 teaspoon dried
- 6 8-ounce salmon fillets
- fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
Melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Add Morels; sauté until beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Add clam juice and wine; boil until liquids have almost evaporated, about 20 minutes.
Add cream to mushrooms; boil until thickened, about 1 minute. Mix in chopped tarragon. Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat broiler. Arrange salmon skin side down on broiler pan. Brush with lemon juice, then butter. Broil until just cooked through, without turning, about 6 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Transfer to plates. Spoon Morels over.
Serves 6
Morel Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, plus additional to taste
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 24 fresh morels (about 1 pound),cleaned and trimmed (or 1 ounce dried morels, soaked, reserving 1/2 cup soaking liquid) 1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
- 2 cups dry red wine
- 2 cups chicken stock fresh lemon juice to taste
In a small heavy saucepan boil water with sugar, without stirring, until a golden caramel. Remove pan from heat and carefully add red-wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar down side of pan. Stir mixture over moderate heat until caramel is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
In a heavy saucepan cook morels in butter, stirring, over moderate heat until liquid from morels is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Transfer morels with a slotted spoon to a bowl and reserve. Add shallots to pan and cook, stirring, until golden. Stir in wine and boil until reduced to about 1 cup, about 15 minutes.
Add stock and reserved morel soaking liquid (if using dried morels) and reduce to about 1 1/4 cups, about 15 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in caramel mixture. Add morels to sauce with salt and pepper to taste. If desired stir in additional Balsamic Vinegar, 1 teaspoon at a time, and lemon juice.
For more Wild Harvest recipes, visit the Earthy Delights Recipe Blog