Pan-Roasted Porcini with Bay Leaves

use chopsticks to gently turn mushrooms

This recipe is inspired by Jonathan Julia, many of you may know from the University District Market booth. Jonathon had chef-ed at many great local restaurants, including Lark and the Herbfarm, before Jeremy snagged him to work with us at Foraged and Found. Don't forget to use him as a great resource for recipe ideas. He says this is his favorite way to eat porcini, and he prefers eating the stems to the caps. Browning king boletes brings out their nutty rich flavor and delicious creamy texture too.

Small Porcini ( King Boletes) - stems only or whole
Butter
1 or 2 Bay leaves per mushroom, preferably fresh
Salt and Pepper

Cut mushrooms into thick wedges. Heat a healthy amount of butter with bay leaves over medium high heat in a saute pan that will fit mushrooms in a single layer. Add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Turn down heat slightly and cook mushrooms turning often until lightly brown, about 5 minutes. Do not over brown or bitter flavors will develop. Serve.

i accidentally had video mode on but I went with it, and it turned out nicely so here it is

Grilled King Boletes with Wild Salad

This recipe from June in from The Illustrated Wild Foods Recipe Calendar 2009....

Grilled King Boletes with Wild Salad

My favorite way to savor king boletes is simply grilled. Pair them with truly wild delicate spring greens and you have a match made in foraging heaven. This recipe is a guideline to spark your creativity and to use whatever you have found and foraged in the woods or your local farmers market.

For each serving:
1 medium King Bolete
Olive oil
Garlic
A few herb sprigs such as marjoram, thyme, oregano, or parsley
Salt and pepper
A couple handfuls of foraged greens-chickweed, dandelion, fennel fronds, lamb’s quarters, miner’s lettuce, purslane, spring beauty, sheep sorrel, wood sorrel, wood violets, etc
Fresh squeezed lemon juice or wine vinegar
One small button king bolete, sliced paper thin, optional
A crunchy tasty garnish-toasted pinenuts, crispy bacon, or shavings of a hard cheese, etc.

Slice mushroom ¼ inch thick. Mix a spoonful of olive oil with a little minced garlic, fresh herbs, salt, and pepper. Brush liberally on mushroom and grill slices over hot coals until browned and tender. Toss wild greens with a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar or lemon, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and optional raw bolete. Serve next to grilled king boletes sprinkled with garnish of choice.

Orcas Island Wedding Feast

I was lucky to have one of the greatest cooking opportunities of my life placed before me on Memorial Day weekend. Let me set the scene:

What: Two old friends, finally tying the knot with their families in tow. End of May bounty at my disposal.

Who: A beautiful highly accomplished creative chef and the other a handsome wine-know, well posed server - a striking duo.

Where: Orcas Island, waterfront cottage and lush homestead on a small inlet.

My inspirations were overflowing for the event. First of all, it's a wedding - bring out all the stops, feast ‘til you drop, and only the best ingredients! Secondly, cooking for great lovely foodie friends- creative freedom and reasons for extra special touches. Thirdly, it's spring - so many awesome things to work with!
I made a list of possible ingredients - morels, porcini, seabeans, watercress, miner's lettuce, violets, asparagus, peas and favas (from down south), green garlic, spring onions, oysters, spot prawns, razor clams...to name just a few. The bride and groom had some requests which were a good jumping off point- they knew they wanted lamb two ways and lots of seafood. My head exploded with ideas, I never had the occasion to do such a lush menu. For some reason I had this obsession with adding flowers to everything...the wedding bells were ringing in ears!

Looking at the bounty that we gathered for the meal I was floored by all the beautiful ingredients we procured from our gardens, friends and farmers in the area. Local Roots Farm radishes and baby turnips. Foraged and Found mushrooms and wild greens. Kurtwood Farm raw milk for making yogurt. Coffelts Farm Lamb from Orcas. Spot Prawns and Razor Clams from my friend Doug in Grayland. A dozen or so herbs from the Corson Building's garden and my own yard too....
the Menu....

After the ceremony - served on a lookout deck over the water
Hibiscus Orange Flower Water Ice Tea
Judd Cove Oysters With Celery Shiso Mignonette
Spring Seven Layer Dip- ricotta, peavines, peamole, fennel lemon salad, sheep cheese, scallions, pinenuts
Hazelnut Dukkah With Olive Oil
Pacific Razor Clam Seviche with Aleppo Pepper,Whole Lemon, Parsley
Mt Townsend Seastack Cheese
Crudite and Crackers
Sit down - served family style on the cottage deck
Shaved Bolete and Artichoke Salad on Lemon Balm Leaves
Razor Clams with Dill, Scallions, and Fried Shallots
Spot Prawns with Soft Almonds, Butter and Saffron

Seafood Fiesta Platter!
Chilled Spot Prawns, Tiny New Potatoes, Asparagus, Sea Beans, Fiddleheads, Hard Boiled Eggs, Baby Miners Lettuce, Creamy Sorrel Anchovy Sauce

Roasted Leg of Lamb rubbed with Sumac and Cinnamon
Lamb Kefte with Cumin and Allspice
Morels, Peas and Fava Beans
Yellow Violet Mint Sauce
Homemade Yogurt
Rose Petal Harissa

Pickled Fennel with Golden Raisins and Coriander
Red Wine Pickled Spring Onions with Rosewater
Homemade Pita

This Week at Foraged and Found Edibles

The seabean season has begun. Also known as salicornia, glasswort or pickleweed. This salty tide flat plant adds texture and fun. Can be eaten raw or cooked. Perfect with fish dishes, potato salads, soups, and dishes with an Asian flair.

Spring kings are here! The spring flush is on. Kings Boletes (also known as porcini in Italian) will be available off and on into July. Quantities are limited but it is worth coming to the market in early hours to hopefully pickup some of these beauties.











Porcinis grow from small firm buttons to large spongy giants. Because of this difference in size, texture, and gill formation we sell them in different grades. One is not necessarily better than the other, just different and used for varying types of preparations. It is like the difference between baby vs mature zucchini.

Small button boletes(#1's) are firmer fleshed, and can have a longer shelf life. Use for roasting, sauteing, and can be eaten raw. Also good if you want a picture perfect presentation. Medium to large boletes(#2's) are softer moist fleshed, with a slightly more pronounced flavor. These are perfect for sauces, sauteed, or my favorite, grilled. The mature gills on the older mushrooms are delicious when grilled- crispy on the outside, custardy on the the inside. Remember boletes are best eaten asap, shelf life can vary but you don't want the bugs to beat you to the feast. And always refrigerate.

Also still in season- fiddlehead ferns, miner's lettuce, watercress, and morels.

Seen at the farmers stalls this week-
The first snap peas! from Alvarez Farms from Eastern WA (I could live on snap peas- minimum allocation -2 lbs a week)
Lots of greens- spinach, scallions, spring onions, mint and garlic scapes
Asparagus is still marching in droves- great with morel mushrooms

Foraged and Found Edibles is a northwest wild food business selling locally to restaurants and at farmers market in the Seattle area. Throughout the summer you will find us Saturdays at the University District Market, and Sundays at Ballard and West Seattle markets.

Raw King Bolete Salad on Lemon Balm Leaves with Chive Flowers

Here is a recipe for a easy little pre-dinner bite - fancy enough for guests, easy enough for movie night.

Small King Bolete Buttons- need a 2-3 per person depending on size
Large Lemon Balm Leaves- 2-3 per person. Not usually sold at markets but easy to find growing like a weed in yards across the city. Looks like a large wide leafed mint. An awesome but under-appreciated herb
Chives with Flowers- a few flower tops and a smidgen of the unflowered stems- if you don't have any growing in your garden I bet your neighbor does.
Lemon
Olive Oil
Salt

With a sharp knife or mandoline cut boletes into very thin slices. Toss with a sqeeze of lemon, drizzle of oil, sprinkle of salt, and chopped chives. Place a spoonful on a lemon balm leaf and sprinkle with chive flowers. Enjoy!

Variations- Try adding thinly sliced raw artichoke hearts, chiffonade of mint, or shavings of parmesan or young pecorino.