Gourmet mushrooms: where, how and why

They have gone from being a “cheap version” of meat to showing off in the haute cuisine restaurants. The mushrooms They are pure delight for the palate, preparing them is everything an art and a challenge even for the most TOP chefs.

Today Summum we have decided to go in search of the directions, tips and delicatessen that will allow you to enjoy this ingredient in the most gourmet way.

Why should we eat mushrooms

Mushrooms they are a true gastronomic delight. Because of its variety, its texture, its aroma and its flavor. With that said, you could also encourage you to eat more mushrooms because they allow you to vary your diet and, at the same time, make it a little lighter.

Depending on the consistency of your meat, the mushrooms contain between 78 and 92% water. They are low in calories and fat is very low. They also contain many salts, including phosphorus and potassium and, to a lesser extent, sodium, sulfur, magnesium, and calcium. Some species also provide vitamins of groups A, B and D. Of course, with the exception of the so-called beef liver (Fistulin hepatic), they lack vitamin C. Nothing that cannot be compensated by taking a varied and balanced diet.

La Lobita: haute cuisine with mushrooms

Located in Navaleno, Soria, La Lobita is considered one of the temples of mycological cuisine. In command of the stove is Elena Lucas, third generation of the family dedicated to cooking.

Boletus ceviche with green pineapple grated; The cooked ball with boletus; Red fruits from Soria, marron glacé from Bierzo, trumpet curd and elderberry jam and Udon “a la carbonara soriana”, are just some of the ways in which this restaurant dares to version the world mushrooms.

The establishment, which boasts 1 Michelin star, works only with a tasting menu that varies according to the season. The current one, focused on the black truffle, is priced at 72 euros per person.

A stop at La Cocina de María Luisa

From Navaleno, Soria, to Madrid, from deputy to cook. Maria Luisa Banzo is considered the queen of mushrooms in the capital. In the menu of your restaurant, Maria Luisa’s Kitchen, located in the exclusive Jorge Juan street, there is a whole section dedicated to the “mycological whims”.

There we find specialties such as sautéed boletus, seasonal mushroom scrambled eggs, monkfish with mushroom and truffle sauce or thistle, truffle and smoked salmon mushroom cake. An essential address.

Where to buy mushrooms

If you finally decide to put yourself to the test and elaborate your own mushroom-based dish, we have collected from the mouths of experts on the subject, all the tips that will make this task more bearable.

The first tip is the most obvious: If you don’t know mushrooms, don’t pick them. If you choose to buy them, there are at least two good addresses in Madrid. The same ones that stand out for the variety and quality of their fruits. The first is Fruits Vazquez, a fruit “boutique” located on Ayala street. And the second is the famous Gold Gourmet, on Ortega y Gasset street. They also have a store in Platea, on Goya Street. A true foodies paradise.

The most exclusive mushrooms according to the season

Among mushrooms, the kings of the fall season are undoubtedly the boletus edulis, The trumpets of death, chanterelles and chanterelles, Among others.

As Elena Lucas, chef at La Lobita, a restaurant specialized in mushrooms, points out, there are a real gem that peeks out near the end of winter, in March: perrechicos, which can be paid almost € 300 per kilo in some houses in the Basque Country.

Among the spring mushrooms, it is worth highlighting the morels, which are collected between April and May and whose price can reach 70 euros per kilo. They are so special that they deserve a separate chapter

Around with the morels, the spring mushrooms

La morel It is a real mycological gem. It is tasty, with an interesting texture and it is very difficult to find. La Lobita is an outstanding address if we want to try this ingredient when the season arrives, as it stars in the spring vegetables and mushrooms menu.

If we aspire to prepare them at home, highlights Elena Lucas, we must bear in mind that the morel has a heat labile toxin and that it is necessary to dry it and then cook it for 10-15 minutes at at least 60ºC so that it loses that toxin. Then you have to throw away the water, as it cannot be used again. Once cooked, we can prepare the morels in a stir fry, in a stew or stuffed, which is how this type of mushroom usually looks.

How to wash mushrooms

Do you have to wash the mushrooms? How? During how much time? The answer is obviously not just one and is provided by an expert such as Maria Luisa Banzo, chef of Maria Luisa’s Kitchen.

First: Mushrooms are washed, because they grow in a natural environment where there are all kinds of animals and because, as is normal, they bring a lot of soil with them. Now, each one has its tricks.

El níscalo, a very fleshy mushroom, it needs a lot of water because when it is cut it dehydrates and thus recovers its texture. In addition, this way it is easier for it to loosen the soil. The Thistle arrow you have to put it in water, but less time and drain it very well. The boletus cleaned under the tap with a brush first. The senderuela and the tyellow break they are put in a colander, as if they were strawberries.

You always have to drain the mushrooms very well, leaving them in a drainer or, in the case of boletus, in a kitchen towel. Of course, when cooking them they are well hydrated again.

Sweet apple and boletus?

Mykés Gourmet is a small and young company in the province of Soria specialized in the elaboration of delicatessen with black and white truffle. Its oak honey with a touch of black truffle (a 170 gr jar is around 10 euros) is a real luxury. There is also room for mushrooms in its product line. To be exact, for the boletus.

Cheese cream, extra virgin olive oil and fleur de sel with boletus. The most extravagant combination It is the red apple sweet with boletus edulis from the forests of Soria, made with brown cane sugar. Ideal for starters and desserts.

A crunchy aperitif in the style of Albert Adrià

Tasty Bites is a line of gourmet products designed by chef TOP Albert Adrià for signing Bidfood Guzman.

These are snacks, bites in which Adrià stands out in a special way, ready to fry and serve as an aperitif or a dressing. There are of seaweed, octopus, starfish and, of course, of mushrooms. Available only for the hotel and restaurant sector.

Shiitake and other medicinal mushrooms

Flagship of fusion cuisine restaurants for a long time, the shiitake mushrooms They have begun to appear little by little also in gourmet stores and department stores. What to do with them and, above all, why eat them? Because they are delicious, but also because they have interesting health benefits.

In Asia they are one of the main protein sources for those who follow a vegetarian diet. From a nutritional point of view they are rich in vitamins D, B, K and minerals such as iron and zinc, among others. And according to traditional Chinese medicine, shiitake mushrooms have anti-inflammatory and stimulating properties of the immune system. A medicinal mushroom with all the letters, such as reishi (or hope mushroom) or chaga.

In ‘Superfoods’ book provides a few ideas to cook them, keeping their flavor and virtues. Something iunusual, good and gourmet to add to our diet.