Champignons

This is my 219th article written for this magazine, and it is the first about mushrooms. Why this subject? A friend has just phoned me from a wood, where she is searching for wild mushrooms.  In April and May they grow prolifically in many regions. On her way home, she will call into her local pharmacy to get them checked for safe eating. Our son on holiday with friends in the Dordogne region once ate a ‘yellow stainer’ and was very ill. Luckily we only heard about it when he had recovered!

Wild Mushrooms

​He is very knowledgeable about language..  I had thought that ‘champ’ meant ‘field’, but Rowan said that in early French it meant ‘open Countryside’. The ‘mush’ in early English meant ‘moss’. I learn something new every day! 'Mort’ in French is ‘death’, but the wild mushrooms called ‘Trompettes de la Mort’ are harmless.
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You may have realised that I am a great fan of the artist Claude Monet. His favourite mushroom was a cèpe. A Frenchman once showed me how to cook them, then we all ate them outside in the sunshine. Never wash them, just wipe them clean. You serve them with the sauce in which you cooked them. Melt plenty of butter, then add shallots, garlic, and parsley. My French friends then add a meat stock, but we preferred a vegetarian one. Finally, just before serving, add double cream. Living here, you could add grilled button mushrooms to this sauce, or, as I sometimes do, stuff large mushrooms and cook in foil in the oven, before serving with this delicious sauce. So, enjoy your champignons!     

Esmé

Alternatively, see this month's recipe for Cream of Mushroom Soup, by The Tidy Cook