More Chanterelles...
27 October 2009
I didn't do any particularly memorable cooking this week, but luckily I still have an unposted recipe in stock from recent weeks. It is also very suitable for the current season (now that the snow has subsided we actually have "real" autumn, with coloured leaves and so on…), as this starter again involves a lot of chanterelles (and in fact not so much more than that). Just a very simple, tasty, luke-warm salad. And right because it is that simple the quality of the ingredients is of course essential. In addition to tasty chanterelles and aromatic tomatoes, a dash of a fine virgin olive oil and a few drops of a strong and concentrated reserve balsamic vinegar will really give an edge here.
Warm Chanterelle Salad
| serves 4 as a starter |
| 120g chanterelles |
| 2 tomatoes |
| a hand full of pine seeds |
| a hand full of freshly chopped chives |
| 1 tablespoon brown sugar |
| some oil to sauté the chanterelles |
| a dash of “normal” balsamic vinegar |
| some cold-pressed olive oil |
| a little bit of special-reserve balsamic vinegar |
| salt and pepper to taste |
Clean the chanterelles, chop them if large, or leave them as they are if tiny. Peel the tomatoes by briefly dipping them into some boiling water before ripping off the skin, which will come off easily. Dice the tomatoes into about 5mm large bits, slightly salt, and when the water comes out drain well so they won’t leave too much extra liquid in the salad. In a non-stick frying pan, gently brown the pine seeds and set aside.
Sauté the chanterelles in a bit of oil for just a few minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and sauté for a few more minutes. Sprinkle a teaspoon full of brown sugar on top and wait until it melts; then add a dash of balsamic vinegar and stir well until the sauce thickens. Take off the heat.
Add the fresh chives, finely chopped, as well as the toasted pine seeds. Dress the salad with some fine cold-pressed olive oil and give it a finishing touch of special-reserve balsamic vinegar, if you wish. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve luke-warm.