Radical Botany

After spending a wet morning in the Oregon Coast range mountains collecting chanterelle mushrooms I decided to sauté up some delicious “roots and shrooms”.

This week I went to a local farmers market and purchased some late season zucchini and some beautiful multicolored carrots.  I also purchased some fresh leeks.  I decided to mix them with my newly found Chanterelles and create a beautiful feast.

The trick to eating mushrooms is to never eat them raw.  Mushrooms have amazing nutritional and medicinal qualities that can only be released through cooking.  Cook all mushrooms at least 15 minutes over low heat.  Here is my recipe for cooking wild Chanterelles.

What you will need:

Two tablespoons olive oil

Two large gloves fresh garlic – sliced thinly

Sliced leeks to taste (I used about ¼ cup)

1 cup sliced fresh carrots

½ cup sliced fresh zucchini

8 to 9 medium to large Chanterelle mushrooms

¼ cup Tamari

Herbs to taste (powered basil, sage, black pepper, and coriander) ¼ teaspoon each

Use a large flat frying pan or a Wok. Slowly sauté two tablespoons of olive oil and two large gloves of fresh garlic on very low heat.  Cook 5 minutes.  Add two tablespoons of tamari, ¼ teaspoon each powered sage, basil, black pepper, and coriander. (You can substitute the herbs you like to use here).  You have now created a wonderful broth to cook your veggies and mushrooms in. Arrange the vegetables and mushrooms on the bottom of a flat surface of the pan in the sauce you have just prepared.

Sauté for at least 15 minutes until the carrots are soft enough to eat. Turn the mixture over a couple of times to make sure all sides are fully cooked. I covered the pan with a lid during this time.  ENJOY!