Chanterelle season begins after the summer solstice, and the first major harvest is picked by mushroomers after July 12, the day of the holy apostles Peter and Paul. According to one legend, chanterelles sprung up from the golden crumbs of bread that Peter was once treated to. Since then, the number of dishes that make use of chanterelles has steadily risen. Here are the most delicious and time-honored:
The mere mention of this dish stirs the appetite. Fried potato is a homemade dish that’s not really intended for guests, which frees you up to go wild on the onions, garlic, and fresh greens.
How to prepare: Peel and coarsely chop potatoes, onions, and chanterelles (100 g of mushrooms per 200 g of potatoes), and run 1 clove of garlic through a press. Combine all the ingredients, add salt and pepper, and fry in butter. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley. Serve with smetana.
Small or large, chanterelle-stuffed pies always vanish within minutes of being served.
How to prepare: Rinse chanterelles (500 g), and cut the larger ones. Fry finely chopped onion with the mushrooms in butter for 15 minutes. Add salt and smetana (2 tbsp), stir, and remove from the heat.
Prepare sourdough with 1/3 cup of warm milk, 5 tbsp of flour, yeast (25 g), and sugar (1 tbsp). Put the bowl with the dough in a warm container with water, cover with a kitchen towel, and leave until frothy. Sieve flour (450 g) into a bowl, make a hollow in the center, pour in egg yolks (2 pcs) and milk (250 ml) while stirring, add salt and the dough. Mix everything. Melt butter (25 g) and add to the dough. Knead the dough, place in a bowl, cover, and leave in a warm place for 2 hours. Separate the dough into pieces, roll them out flat, and let them rise. Lay on the filling and pinch the edges. Arrange the pies on a tray powdered with flour, and let them rise further. Smear yolk on top, and bake for 30 minutes at 180C.
This hot French-sounding snack can be found in almost any theater in Russia during the intermission, but you don’t have to wait for the theatre season to enjoy this treat.
How to prepare: Chop onion (20 g) and chanterelles (100 g), run garlic (5 g) through a press, and fry in butter in a pan. Add cream (50 g), a pinch of salt, plus pepper and finely chopped dill, and stew for 1 minute. Put all the ingredients into a special mold for julienne, sprinkle with grated cheese (50 g), and bake in the oven for 3 minutes at 20C.
In Russia, soup is always on the menu. Come summer and fall, mushroom soup with its unique forest aroma is a firm (or rather watery) favorite.
How to prepare: Peel carrots and onions (1 pc), and finely chop. Peel potatoes (400 g) and cut into large pieces. Rinse chanterelles (300 g). Pour vegetable oil into a saucepan, heat up, lay out the carrots and onions, and fry for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms, fry for another minute, and pour in some water (about 2.5 liters). Mix everything and bring to the boil. Add the potatoes and rinsed rice (2 tbsp), salt, and cook for 15-20 minutes. Serve with sour cream and parsley. Enjoy!
This stew used to be cooked in traditional Russian stoves. Now they’re gone, but people’s love for ragout (pronounced the French way – ragoo) and pot-based cooking is still as strong as ever.
How to prepare: Peel carrots and onions, then chop and fry. Wash chanterelles (200 g) and add to the vegetables, plus salt and pepper. Separately, cut and fry pepper and tomato. Peel potatoes (2 pcs) and finely chop. Place all the vegetables in a pot, add salt, and bake in the oven for 40 minutes at 200C.
Any mushrooms go well with buckwheat porridge, but chanterelles add more than just flavor thanks to their characteristic chestnut color.
How to prepare: Boil buckwheat in salted water, add butter, and mix. Fry chanterelles in a deep pan with chopped onion, and salt. Add the buckwheat to the mushrooms and onions, mix, and salt some more. Cook for another 10 minutes.
It would be strange if Russian didn’t stuff pelmeni (dumplings) with mushrooms. In Udmurtia (1,200 km east of Moscow), this traditional dish is known in the local lingo as "gubien pelnyani" (just in case you were wondering).
How to prepare: Add a pinch of salt, 1 tbsp of vegetable oil, and 2 eggs to 1 cup of flour. Knead the dough, wrap in foil, and place in the fridge for an hour. During this time, cut chanterelles (200 g), salt, and fry with chopped onion in butter. Boil potatoes (2 pcs) and mash. Mix with the mushrooms, add salt and an egg.
Roll out the dough, cut into small circles, lay the filling in the center of each, and pinch the edges. Cook in salted water for 7 minutes. Serve with butter and smetana.
Read more: Pelmeni all year around: Recipes from across Russia’s regions
This recipe is ideal if you want to enjoy the taste of chanterelles on a cozy winter evening.
How to prepare: Wash chanterelles (500 g) and boil in salted water for 30 minutes. Drain and transfer to a sterilized jar. In another pan, boil finely chopped onion (1 pc) and garlic (3 cloves) with spices (pepper, cloves, coriander), and add sugar and salt. To the simmering marinade add 1 tbsp of vinegar, boil for another minute, and pour the ready marinade into the jar with chanterelles. All that remains is to close the jar tightly and store in the fridge until feeding time, whenever that may be.
Read more: Baked stuffed mushrooms
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