Michael Cimarusti is the chef at Providence. He is cooking fresh chanterelle mushrooms native to California that he finds at Tutti Frutti Farms. These wild mushrooms cannot be cultivated and pop up after rains. He pairs these orange mushrooms with John Dory fish from New Zealand. The mushrooms should be available for three to four more weeks.
Here’s a simple way to cook chanterelles that can be used a stand alone side dish or used as a sauce and garnish for meat, fish or foul.
1 lb cleaned chanterelles, peel the stems with a pairing knife, rinse in cold water to remove soil, cut the chanterelles into like size pieces. If they are small enough, leave them whole.
1 oz shallot, very finely diced (cisele)
1 oz chives very finely sliced
1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice (more if you like your mushrooms tart)
1 oz Extra virgin olive oil
3 to 6 oz butter, (depending on what your cardiologist says)
4 oz vegetable or chicken stock
To make the recipe simply heat a straight sided sauce pan over a medium flame. Add the olive oil and half the butter. When the butter has melted add the shallots and cook them until they are translucent. Add the chanterelles a good pinch of salt, and toss them to coat with the butter. Add the lemon juice and reduce it by half. Add the stock and bring it to a simmer. Cook the mushrooms until they are tender and the stock is reduced by half. Add the remaining butter a little at a time to thicken the stock, add the chives at the last moment, just before serving.
Sprouting broccoli grown by Maryann Carpenter of Coastal Farms is not the same variety as the typical broccoli crown we all know. It is it's own unique variety and, even though difficult to harvest, is an easy vegetable to cook with because you can eat the whole thing -- stems, leaves and head. Maryann recommends blanching the broccoli first, removing as much water as possible, then stir frying with olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes.
Music Break: It Never Rains In Southern California by Albert Hammond