from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
The Girolle Chanterelle
www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/8510517024/
Chanterelle girolles are wild mushrooms,
and not yet commercially cultivated.
In France, they are also called the Chanterelle Ciboire or
Jaunotte.
Latin - cantharellus
cibarius.
The chanterelle or girolle chanterelle is
the best-known member of the chanterelle mushroom family in France. The other members of the chanterelle family are
also welcomed by the chefs of France, whether fresh or dried. Dried
chanterelles keep much of their flavor; but the chefs know the difference that
fresh chanterelles can make to a dish;
in season, hardly a single menu will not include at least one dish with
fresh chanterelles
Each member of the chanterelle family is
available fresh at specific times of the year, and I have included, in this
post, three of the four most popular chanterelles seen on French menus. The fourth, the
horn of plenty or black chanterelle, (in French, the corne d’abondance or
trompettes de la mort) has its own post.
Mushroom gatherers.
www.flickr.com/photos/clairemcox/30305747542/
The abundance of names for a single mushroom.
The variety of names used for a single mushroom are part of local traditions that are found in all countries and regions, including North America and the UK. I have been told by more than one chef who, time permitting, pick their own wild mushrooms, that there are many more than four members of the chanterelle family in France. In order not to confuse the diners with ten or more different names, the less well-known chanterelle mushrooms will be prepared together with the chanterelle family member closest in color taste and texture; when cooked any minor differences will have disappeared.
The chanterelle girolle’s color ranges
from an ivory white to a yellow-orange, and it is a meaty mushroom with a
fruity and slightly peppery taste. Fresh chanterelle girolles will be on menus
from late May through October.
The Girolle Chanterelle on your menu:
Cassoulet d'Escargots aux Girolles à la
Crème de Persillade – Cassolette d'Escargots is a popular snail dish, but here we
see a change in the traditional recipe. Here the dish called cassolette
d'escargots has had an upgrade with the girolle chanterelle being added to the
recipe along with a cream of parsley sauce. Cassolettes d'Escargots are found, with
slight differences in the recipe, in most of France's regions. If you are in
France and haven't tried snails before consider trying this dish, then you may
understand why the French enjoy eating snails. N.B. Cassoulet d'Escargots
are very different from the heavy winter stews that are the
Cassoulets of southern France.
Chanterelles hidden in the grass.
www.flickr.com/photos/demartigny/6106780856/
Crème de Chanterelle Ciboire - A cream of girolle
chanterelle soup.
Fettuccini with chanterelles
www.flickr.com/photos/hanspetermeyer/7927871268/
Fricassée de Rognons de Veau aux Jaunottes.- Veal kidneys stewed with girolle
chanterelle mushrooms; veal and lamb kidneys are very popular in France.
Chanterelles in the market.
www.flickr.com/photos/taomeister/11381733043/
Risotto de Boulgour aux Chanterelles et Œufs
de Caille Poché. - A risotto made with blé boulgour,
bulgur wheat, and the chanterelle mushroom. Bulgur wheat is the pre-cooked,
par-boiled wheat used for taboulé and other traditional North
African dishes. French chefs have begun to use this wheat with its slightly
nutty flavor for local creations. Here, the bulgur wheat is made into a risotto
with mushrooms and served with poached quail eggs. NB. Quail eggs taste just like a hen’s
eggs; however, they are one-fifth the size, and so a quail egg omelet for one
will be expensive.
Chanterelle Risotto
www.flickr.com/photos/bluumwezi/4824406875/
The Girolle Chanterelle in the languages
of France's neighbors:
(Catalan – rossinyol), (Dutch
- hanenkam or cantharel ),(German
– pfifferlinge or eierschwamm), (Italian
- gallinacio or galletto), (Spanish – chantarela), (Latin
- cantharellus cibarius).
-------------------------
The Chanterelle
Gris - The Trumpet Chanterelle,
Number two on the chanterelle popularity stakes:
The Chanterelle Gris, Chanterelle en Tube,
Chanterelle d'Automne, Chanterelle Jaunissante. Chanterelle en
Trompette - Trumpet Chanterelle, Autumn Chanterelle, or Funnel Chanterelle. (Latin - cantharellus tubaeformis)..
Chanterelle Gris, the Trumpet Chanterelle.
This small yellow to brown and gray
mushroom has a slightly tart mushroom flavor with the typical slightly springy
mushroom texture. In France they are fresh from September through November.
The Trumpet Chanterelle on French menus:
Côte de Veau à
la Crème de Chanterelle Grise - A veal chop prepared with a cream of trumpet
chanterelle sauce.
Filet
de Fera aux Chanterelles Grise – A filet of the broad whitefish, a supremely tasty member of the trout
and salmon families prepared with the trumpet chanterelle mushroom.
Langoustines Toutes
Décortiquées Rôties Petites Chanterelles Grises - The Dublin Bay prawn, Scampi or
Norwegian Lobster shelled
and roasted with the small trumpet chantarelle mushrooms. The Dublin Bay prawn
is neither a lobster nor even a shrimp; however, this is the real scampi, not
the shrimps that in the USA are often on the menu as scampi. Scampi are not
easily shelled, and here you may see that the restaurant is letting you know
that they have done all the hard work. (N.B. Do not confuse the langoustine
with the much larger langouste,
the rock or spiny lobster; the owner of the lobster tail).
Sweetbreads
in cream sauce with chanterelles
www.flickr.com/photos/dongkwan/6807314416/
Suprêmes de Faisan Rôtis sur l'os, les Cuisses Farcies aux Chanterelles d'Automne
de Nos Ramasseurs (2 pers.) - Breast of pheasant roasted on the bone, with the legs stuffed
with Autumn chanterelle mushrooms supplied by the restaurant’ s own wild
mushroom gatherers. This dish is for a minimum of 2 persons (2 per.). The
pheasants on French menus are rarely wild pheasants; like many other
traditional game
birds and animals pheasants are farmed in France; even wild
boar are farmed. The pheasant on this menu is a farmed bird; if this was a
wild pheasant then the menu would read faisan sauvage
The Chanterelle Gris - The
Trumpet Chanterelle in the languages of France's neighbors:
(Catalan - fals camagroc), (Dutch - trechtercantharel), (German
- trompetenpfifferling or herbst pfifferling), (Italian
- finferia or cantarello a tromba),
(Spanish - angula gris, trompeta amarilla de
monte), (Latin - cantharellus tubaeformis).
The Chanterelle à Pied Jaune - The Yellow Foot Chanterelle
Number three in the
chanterelle popularity stakes.
Chanterelle à Pied Jaune, Craterelle,
Chanterelle Jaune
The Yellow Foot Chanterelle, Golden Chanterelle or
Winter Chanterelle.
When this mushroom's French name is on
the menu as the craterelle read again carefully as another family member is
called the craterelle
corne d'abondance, and that is the black chanterelle or horn of plenty
mushroom. The black chanterelles is
an equally tasty but different tasting mushroom, and it is the subject of a
separate post. The yellow foot chanterelle is fresh from August through
October.
Chanterelle à Pied Jaune - The Yellow Foot Chanterelle
The Yellow Foot Chanterelle on French
menus:
Chanterelle a Pied Jaune Grille aux Noix
de Saint-Jacques –The yellow-foot chanterelle, grilled and served, with the meat of the
king scallop
Veal, lemon, tomato, chanterelles.
www.flickr.com/photos/loustejskal/15174213780/
Blanc de Cabillaud Vapeur, Mijotée de Chanterelles
Jaune - A filet of cod, which is France’s favorite fish,
steamed and served with simmered yellow-foot chanterelles.
Filet
de Chevreuil aux
Craterelles – A
fillet, the tenderloin, from the red
deer served with the yellow-foot chanterelle. The red deer on
this menu is farm-raised; if this was a wild deer then the menu would read
chevreuil sauvage, wild red deer.
The Yellow Foot Chanterelle in the languages of France's neighbors:
(Catalan camagroc )(German - starkriechende pfifferling, gelbe kraterelle, gelbe kantherelle), (Italian - cantarello giallo), (Spanish - trompeta amarilla, rebozuelo), (Latin - craterellus lutescens)
The Yellow Foot Chanterelle in the languages of France's neighbors:
(Catalan camagroc )(German - starkriechende pfifferling, gelbe kraterelle, gelbe kantherelle), (Italian - cantarello giallo), (Spanish - trompeta amarilla, rebozuelo), (Latin - craterellus lutescens)
If you gather wild mushrooms when in France,
do not eat any that have not been checked!!!
Every town and village in France have a
trained mycologist, a mushroom expert, and local pharmacists have these
expert’s addresses. The infamous Jack O’ Lantern mushroom; in French the Pleurote
de l'Olivier looks similar to some of the chanterelle mushrooms in the
wild. Regular mushroom gatherers may easily spot the difference; however, you
may not and it is poisonous and can make you very very sick! In the
kitchens of France’s restaurant's wild mushrooms, of all types, may be on the
menu; however, chefs only buy wild mushrooms that have been clearly identified
by the ramasseurs de champignons, the professional mushroom
gatherers.
For more other mushrooms in
France see these posts:
------------------------------------------
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Copyright 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019.
------------------------------
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