Wild Mushrooms

“Fungus”—as a word, it’s all wrong for the delicately gilled beauties that soak up wine, glisten with butter, and wear herbs like a mink coat. Let’s try blue oysters, chanterelles, or the burly, fringed lion’s mane. In fact, let’s try those again and again.

If you, like me, want to devour wild mushrooms without thinking too much about their forest-floor provenance or worrying about a mold insurgence as you cultivate your own, you’d love Mushroom Maggie’s Farm. St. Francisville couple Maggie Long and Cyrus Lester source the bulk of their mushrooms not from the wilds of the Felicianas but right at their farm, where they’ve engineered the ideal conditions for raising healthful, toothsome mushrooms. As a vendor, Mushroom Maggie is relatively new to the Red Stick Farmers Market in downtown Baton Rouge but already popular even if shoppers don’t know quite how candlestick-sized fungal growths will jibe with the rest of the ingredients on their grocery list. 

Never fear—I’m intrepid in the kitchen if not in the woods. With five pounds of Mushroom Maggie’s chestnut, lion’s mane, king trumpet, and oyster mushrooms to work with, I set about finding delicious uses. (For the broth and butter, particularly, I owe a debt to Six Seasons, by Joshua McFadden and Martha Holmberg, my favorite new guide to unlocking vegetables’ full flavor year-round.) My adaptations include:

A broth: Pile a pound of cleaned wild mushrooms—gills, stalks, and all—into a large saucepan and top with an inch of water. Simmer for one hour. Strain and store for another use.

A butter: Take the mushroom broth (above) and reduce to 1/4 cup to form a glaze. Cool the glaze then mix with 2 sticks softened butter, a teaspoon of minced fresh rosemary, a dash of crushed red pepper, and a pinch of kosher salt. Chill for one hour before using.

A flatbread: Sauté two smashed cloves of garlic in olive oil for 5 minutes until golden brown. Stir in a pound of wild mushrooms (sliced if large). Season with salt and pepper, then cook until mushrooms release water and begin to crisp, 6–7 minutes. Crisp for another few minutes, then stir in 2 tablespoons butter, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a pinch of minced parsley. Have a loved one forcibly restrain you from eating all the mushrooms as is (OK, just one) while you caramelize one thinly sliced onion. Preheat oven to 400 F. Top flatbreads with mushroom butter, mushroom and garlic mixture, onions, and torn goat cheese. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes, until cheese melts. Garnish with green onions and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice. 

Learn more about Mushroom Maggie at facebook.com/mushroommaggiesfarm. For another mushroom recipe, check out Jenné Claiborne’s Oyster Mushroom Etouffée from Sweet Potato Soul.