Erica De Mane

Recipe below: Casarecce with Chanterelles, Grilled Prosciutto, and Sage

If you ask someone in the Hudson Valley where their favorite chanterelle foraging spot is, you won’t get far. They’ll look at you with that screwed up face that says, “Are you joking?,” or they’ll act like they didn’t hear you. My efforts in hunting for these beautiful mushrooms have so far failed, so when the nice lady at Migliorelli Farm said her longtime forager had just dropped off a bag of fresh picked chanterelles, I bought most of them. They are my favorite mushroom. There’s something light in their flavor, unlike porcini or morels, which both are amazing but with more strident tastes. Chanterelles, to my palate, are complex, sweet, damp, black peppery, and almost fruity up front. I’m thinking apricot fruity, but that might just be because of their somewhat apricot color, a sort of bleached-out apricot. Their texture, thick, velvety, with a touch of slippery, is also a big part of their appeal for me. And their shape, a trumpet, a funnel, a lily, is truly lovely.

Casarecce with Chanterelles, Grilled Prosciutto, and Sage

(Serves 2)

½ pound casarecce pasta (trofie, fusilli, or any other type of stubby, twisted pasta would also be great)
Salt
3 thin slices prosciutto di Parma or San Daniele
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Vidalia onion, chopped
A big handful of chanterelle mushrooms, brushed clean and cut in half lengthwise if large
Black pepper
A few big scrapings of nutmeg
About 5 long thyme sprigs, the leaves chopped
A big splash of dry white wine
½ cup homemade chicken broth
A few drops of rice wine vinegar
About 6 sage leaves, cut into chiffonade
A chunk of grana Padano cheese

Set up a pot of pasta cooking water, and bring it to a boil. Add salt.

While the water is coming to a boil, get out a stovetop grill plate, and get it hot over high heat. Brush a little olive oil onto the prosciutto slices, and place them on the grill. Cook quickly, just until they tighten up and get crisp. You don’t want them to take on any char. Give the prosciutto a flip, and cook a few seconds on the other side. Grab them from the grill, and set them aside.

Get out a big skillet, and set it over medium heat. Add the butter and a big drizzle of olive oil. Add the onion, and let it soften for a minute or so. Add the chanterelles, and season them with salt, black pepper, nutmeg, and the thyme. Sauté until the mushrooms and onion are fragrant and tender, about 4 minutes.

Drop the casarecce into the water.

Add the white wine to the skillet, and let it boil away. Add the chicken broth, and let it simmer for a minute or so. Add a drop or two of rice wine vinegar, only enough to bring up the flavor. You don’t want it tasting obviously vinegary.

When the pasta is al dente, drain it, and add it to the skillet, giving everything a few quick tosses over medium heat.

Pour the pasta into a serving bowl. Add about a tablespoon or so of grated grana Padano and the sage. Toss quickly. Taste for seasoning. Chop the prosciutto, and scatter it over the top. Bring the bowl the table, along with the rest of the cheese.