Cooking with wild mushrooms is similar to cooking with button mushrooms.  You want to remember to always use high heat, and to sear them until they are golden brown.

Step One- Clean and Slice

Using a vegetable scrubber, dry paper towel or any type of cleaning tool, brush off the outside of the mushroom, making sure to remove all signs of dirt and debris.  Briefly run under water to help this process.  Slice mushrooms however you would like to.  Small mushrooms are best left whole.

Step Two- Saute or Roast

To saute the mushrooms, use a frying pan over high heat with butter or olive oil.  Garlic always adds a lovely flavour to this as well.  As the mushrooms cook, you will notice a liquid developing, continue to saute until this liquid is gone, and/or until the mushrooms are golden brown. At this point, you can add herbs and onions to compliment the mushrooms.

To roast the mushrooms, toss the sliced or whole mushrooms in olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic.  Bake in a 400 F oven for around 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Chantrelles with Risotto and Corn

• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup white wine
• sea salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 8 oz chantrelles, trimmed, cleaned, and sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 2 shallots, finely minced
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 3/4 cup corn kernels
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped

• 3/4 cup chopped onions
• 1/4 stick butter
• 2 cups chopped shaggy manes (Coprinus comatus)
• 1 tsp chopped garlic
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup of barley
• 6 cups of water
• 2 cups of shrimp
• 1 can of corn kernels
• Salt and pepper to taste

Combine onions and butter and sauté for five minutes.  Add shaggy manes and cook for three minutes.  Add fresh garlic.  Add water, barley and chicken broth, and bring to a boil.  Simmer on medium heat for 45 minutes until the barley is soft.  Add corn and shrimp and cook for another 5 minutes, or until shrimp is pink.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 4-6 portions.

Not many individuals realize that it is essentially really easy to grow mushrooms yourself, instead of choosing to spend your money at your local superstore on mushroom species inexpensively imported from foreign nations where they are grown in large quantities. The store variety do not have much of a product life and the mushrooms do not truly enjoy being packed in plastic, so by learning to grow mushrooms at home, not only are you going to have fresher longer, lasting mushrooms, but they may also most likely taste stronger and more mushroom-like as the store kinds have a tendency to have a more watered-down flavour.  Another benefit of growing mushrooms yourself is that you aren't restricted to the variety displayed in the shops - which sometimes is composed of button mushrooms, Shiitake, Oyster and Portobello. Though Oyster mushrooms are seen to be the simplest kind of mushroom to cultivate, you may attempt to try and grow something that most shops won't ever sell. The Lions Mane mushroom is a bit harder to grow and yet has a taste which is similar to that of lobster, and it is extremely costly to get from consultant shops.