Wild Mushroom Bruschetta with Triple Crème Cheese

Plus – how mushroom foraging just may save my life

I took an intro mushroom foraging class last weekend.

It was part of my decision to finally try the things I’ve been wanting to do but putting off. I’ve made a vow to myself to experience at least one new thing a month for the remainder of the year. That’s only four new things.

In two weeks, I’ll take a watercolour painting class, and next month a pottery-making class. I think Pilates is also on the agenda, but if I’m being honest with myself, that’s less about trying new things and more about chasing a six-pack. A never ending quest.

Because no one wanted to take the foraging class with me, I always stalled signing up. Realizing I was “one day-ing” my life away, I finally said, “blast it. I’ll do it alone.” And so I did.

Some of the most interesting and appealing people I know are people with many varied interests. One of my favourite people is a banker by profession, but that’s the least interesting thing about him. He’s an avid cyclist, yoga enthusiast (even certified as a teacher, though he doesn’t really teach), gardener and budding farmer, talented painter, and general outdoorsman. He packs a lot into his life, and I find it as impressive as I do inspirational.

Me? I eat and drink. (I do both of those things really well.)

But, like my friend, I want to be an intriguing woman of many interests. I want to have things to do beyond Netflix and Chill (I actually don’t have Netflix, and I’ve never been chill, but you know what I mean.)

It’s been a tougher year for me. A few minor health challenges (nothing life-threatening, thankfully, but serious enough to make doctor’s appointments a priority in my schedule, deterring and distracting from the things I actually want to do). With waiting rooms and health programs and recoveries leaving some extra time on my hands, I’ve been thinking a lot about past decisions, weighing if they were good or bad (time will tell), and figuring out what I want from my life and how to go about getting it.

Interestingly, in the way the universe seems to whisper messages of guidance, the mushroom foraging class was led by foraging expert, Steve Lukacic, who came to this unique profession after a bustling music career that had him living and working around the world. A few decades of the fast life, and his health wasn’t great and he wanted to get out of the hustle and bustle and find his way back to the nature-filled days of his youth. So, he came home, moved to the country, and started living and learning about foraging, gardening, hunting, and fishing. Now, 90% of what he eats he says he sources for himself.

But we’ll talk about my long-held dream to beat it out of Toronto for greener pastures another time. Today’s post is about my intro to foraging. (If you would like to see my Instagram reel about the day, you can check it out here.)

Steve, pointing out a poisonous earth ball mushroom

Do one thing every day that scares you*

(*but do not eat an unknown mushroom. That’s just stupid.)

First of all, let’s start by saying that despite an incredibly compelling and very thorough afternoon, led by arguably one of the most experienced and knowledgeable mushroom foragers in the profession, I will not be hunting my own mushrooms anytime soon.

Toxic earth ball mushrooms just hanging in the wild

Ontario has 4,000 catalogued mushroom species. There’s no known number for the world population of fungi. Most estimates suggest 40-50k, but it’s not out of the question to think it could be a million.

That’s all very fine and good, but the sheer volume of mushrooms is not where the danger lies. The danger, of course, is with the poisonous ones, which, in many cases can look exactly like the good ones.

Harvested chanterelles

The coveted chanterelle mushroom ­– which currently sells for $29.99 a pound at Toronto’s St Lawrence Market, and of which Steve has successfully foraged about 50 pounds so far and has given to his friends for free (I asked to be his friend, but he didn’t really answer me) – looks strikingly like the poisonous Jack o’ Lantern mushroom. From what I can tell, death doesn’t occur from eating a Jack, but many of its victims wish it would.

On my mushroom hunt, we found a patch of earth balls, one of which had come loose from the ground, so we were able to pick it up and cut it open (there is a strict no foraging/picking policy in High Park). While most fungi watchers say the earth ball looks like an edible puffball, I think it looks like a common brown mushroom. We sliced it open, and inside was the most brilliant black. It was gorgeous. Like a black widow.

Steve holding the toxic earth ball mushroom he just cut in half

Handling toxic mushrooms is fine (I touched TWO on my outing). You only get sick from digesting poisonous mushrooms. I say digesting because expert (I repeat, expert) mushroom hunters, if stumped, will chew a little of the mushroom and spit it out as a way to determine its species. And they’ve lived to tell the tale without incident.

It takes a trained eye to understand the good from the bad: where the mushroom grows (what kind of tree, live or decaying, what kind of dirt, etc.) how it grows (clusters, single, stem, no stem etc). To the plebeian mushroom hunter, such as me, unfortunately, there really isn’t a cut-and-dried way to know which mushrooms are harmful. To an expert hunter, they know almost immediately, which is why they’re the experts.

Though I’m not yet ready to feast on my forest finds, I’m definitely going back to learn more. Hopefully to also learn about other edible plants. Foraging is slightly nerdy, but in all the coolest ways. Beyond getting to understand the earth better, and learning how all species are truly interconnected and reliant on each other, there’s the very beneficial upside of (eventually) finding delicious treats – for free.

Mushroom Bruschetta with Triple Crème

I clearly have a thing for things on toast.

I’ve written about bruschetta, and its various toppings, on May 9 (fava bean), May 29 (asparagus), and June 29 (spicy bomba).

And today, I bring you another glorious recipe to add to your Things on Toast repertoire.

In the spirit of my foray into mushroom foraging, I like to use wild mushrooms (sadly purchased from a proper store as I am not yet wholly confident in my ability to pick out the real deals from their deadly imposters), but you can use regular, old white and brown mushrooms if pressed.

I love how sweet sherry (nip some of your dad’s Harvey’s Bristol) plays with earthy mushrooms, for a mellow and rich flavour. But for a different take, try a splash of sherry vinegar for a tangy note, or Worcestershire sauce for a spicy one. The outcome will be different, naturally, but still intriguingly good.

Makes: about 2 cups of topping (how much that gets you depends on the size of your toasts)
Chef level: easy

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, or as needed

• 2 (1 Tbsp/5g) garlic cloves, minced

• 600g mixed mushrooms of choice, roughly chopped

• ¾ cup 10% heavy cream (or as needed)

• 2 tsp rosemary, minced

• 1 Tbsp sweet cream sherry (such as Harvey’s Bristol)

• Triple Crème cheese, such as brie or camembert

• Sourdough loaf or baguette, sliced and toasted

How to Make It:

1. Coat a pan with the olive oil and add the garlic to the cold pan. Gently warm over medium-low heat (a cold pan helps the garlic release its flavours slowly and reduce the risk of burning or cooking too quickly.)

2. When you can hear the garlic starting to sizzle (probably a minute or two from cold), add the mushrooms and rosemary, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid the mushrooms release is nearly evaporated, and the mushrooms are soft. About 5 minutes.

3. While the mushrooms are cooking, lightly toast the baguette. Once toasted, add a slice of triple crème cheese to each, and put under the broiler for a minute to gently melt the cheese (you don’t want it super runny, but softly pliable so it glues the mushrooms to the bread.)

4. Once the mushrooms have cooked, pour in the heavy cream, stirring frequently, until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3-5 minutes.

5. Pour in the sherry, stir through, and pile on cheese toasts, pressing gently to get the mushrooms to stick to the cheese.

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PS –

Before you go, I’m hosting a Tasting Tour of Argentina downtown Toronto on October 3. If you like good wine and delicious food, you should join me.

You can get your tickets here.

Thank you for reading Quaintrelle.

If you liked this post, I would appreciate it if you could throw a little love my way with a heart. And if you know a budding forager, feel free to share this post – it’s free!

I hope you get out in the woods sometime this week. Just don’t eat anything I wouldn’t.

xo – Erin