September 4, 2010Chanterelles! What a find at today's farmer's market! It is the tail-end of the local mushroom season here, and soon it will become too dry for these little guys.
Captain Woody (who makes his own fresh pasta, sells his own hen's eggs, and grows three varieties of cultivated mushrooms) instructed me to use them within 2 days and that they are fantastic in risotto.
I forgot to take a picture of them in their raw state, so please take a look at another South Carolina blog about local mushrooms and foraging....he's got some great pics!
I love how they just marched out of the woods and into Mellow Mushroom Pizza in Greenville and had them put their wild mushrooms on the pizza!
Since our closest Mellow Mushroom is 40 miles away....I just made my own.
Pizza dough: recipe can be found at www.ansonmills.com
I topped the pizza with a roasted local tomato and red bell pepper sauce that contained a little of our own Charleston Hot Cayenne pepper from the backyard.
The greenery on the pizza is home-grown basil, and we added a small amount of Sweetgrass Dairy Eden goat cheese and also a dusting of Parmesan cheese.
The risotto was pretty good with the chanterelles. I added lots of parsley from our garden and of course, Parmesan cheese. The saffron adds a nice luxurious smokey quality. Here is my favorite risotto recipe! I just substituted the chanterelles for the morel and cremini mushrooms, and substituted local rice for the Arborio.
The best kind of rice for risotto is a round or semi-round short-grain rice such as Arborio. This is the most common rice you see in this dish in restaurants. However, in the Lowcountry, I can just use Carolina Gold Rice. It is a semi-round medium grain rice that puts out plenty of starch for a creamy risotto.
From Carolina Plantation:
"In 1685, a distressed merchant ship paid for repairs in Charleston with a small quantity of rice seed from Madagascar. Dr. Henry Woodward planted the seed in South Carolina, beginning the state’s 200 year history as the leading rice producer in the United States. At the turn of the century, rice cultivation ended in the Low Country South because of a weak market, inadequate machinery, and competition from the Gulf States.
Until recently, most of the “Carolina Gold” on the market, unfortunately has been grown in the Gulf States, not in South Carolina. Because of our commitment to providing authentic Carolina-grown products, Carolina Plantation Rice has devoted a portion of it’s rice acreage to the cultivation of true “Carolina Gold” Rice. Your purchase of this home-grown product keeps South Carolina growing."
Until recently, most of the “Carolina Gold” on the market, unfortunately has been grown in the Gulf States, not in South Carolina. Because of our commitment to providing authentic Carolina-grown products, Carolina Plantation Rice has devoted a portion of it’s rice acreage to the cultivation of true “Carolina Gold” Rice. Your purchase of this home-grown product keeps South Carolina growing."
Carolina Plantation, found along the Pee Dee River in South Carolina, also produces long-grain aromatic rice, processed into both standard white rice and brown rice.
The Carolina Gold rice is about the same price as an imported Arborio pound-for-pound, so order some and give it a try sometime!
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