Wild mushrooms hold a special place in the heart of most Pacific Nor’westerners. It’s a regional delicacy that can’t be beat or replicated outside of the areas in which they thrive. Mushroom hunting adds to the thrill of the fall season that is already packed with so many joys. Not an activity for the free-wielding or uninformed, mushroom hunting can be a perilous venture. Between knife-wielding competing foragers vying for prime real estate to the danger of misidentifying and consuming the wrong shrooms, the activity is something I’ve been wary of and can only say I’ve sought to do a handful of times with Drew and her mother near her home on the Northern California Coast. More inviting are the bushels brought into the farmers markets this time of year. It has become a tradition around halloween to consume at least one batch of Chanterelles, always with plenty of rosemary and garlic. This year I figured I would try to confit them with herbs in order to render the insides buttery while drawing out some of their moisture, then fry them until crispy in that same fat, then absorb the rest of with some lovely al dente rice. The result is the best smelling kitchen possible, and a very tasty fall side that satisfies that shroomy itch this time of year.
Rosemary Fried Rice w/ Chanterelle Mushroom Confit
- Yield: Serves 3–4 1x
Ingredients
Chanterelle Confit:
- 2 cups ghee
- 1lb whole chanterelle mushrooms, larger ones torn into pieces, cleaned and trimmed
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 1 bayleaf
- 2 cloves garlic
Fried Rice:
- ½ cup wild rice, rinsed and drained
- ½ cup white basmati rice, rinsed and drained
- ¼ cup mushroom and herb infused ghee (from contfit)
- ¼ cup rosemary needles
Instructions
For the Chanterelle Confit:
- Melt Ghee in medium saucepan with high walls over medium heat.
- Turn the heat down low and add Herbs, Garlic, and Chanterelle mushrooms. Don’t worry if you can’t submerge all the mushrooms at first, as they soften they will dip below the surface of the fat. As it cooks, you should see just the faintest bubbling coming up from the mushrooms. Confit at 170F-180F for one hour, stirring occasionally, adjusting burner as needed to maintain the proper temperature. While cooking, prepare the rice (below).
- Once cooked, remove from heat and strain contents with a fine mesh sieve, catching the fat and liquid into a clear glass measuring cup. Discard herbs, reserve mushrooms and let the liquid sit until the fat separates from the water and rises, 10-15 minutes.
For the Fried Rice:
- While the chanterelles are cooking, boil a pot of salted water over high heat.
- Add Wild Rice and turn down burner to maintain a low boil.
- After 30 minutes, add Basmati Rice. Preheat the oven to 300F
- Boil until all rice is cooked but slightly al dente, 10-15 minutes. Drain rice into colander.
- Dump rice into rimmed baking sheet and spread into an even layer with a spatula. Place sheet in oven to dry rice for 5-7 minutes, stirring and flipping one time halfway through.
- Remove rice from oven and continue to dry at room temperature for 10 minutes. Transfer rice to a bowl.
- Heat a large wok or pot over medium-high heat. Pour in ¼ cup of the fat from your confit and immediately add Rosemary Needles. Fry rosemary until needles start to lose their color, 2-3 minutes. Add chanterelles, season with a big pinch of kosher salt and turn heat up to high. Fry until edges of mushrooms are browned and crispy. Add rice and toss to coat. Fry rice for an additional 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt, a few turns of fresh pepper, and a squeeze of lemon. Toss, transfer to a serving bowl and serve.
