September - Black Trumpet Mushrooms

We were out in Bald Eagle State Park and Amanda found these black trumpet mushrooms, Craterellus fallax. They were difficult to see, but once she spotted one, we were able to find more and filled a bag.


These mushrooms look like old, rotting leaves or rotting mushrooms until you get close enough to inspect them. They were growing up through moss on the trail about 40 yards uphill from a stream. We brought them home, cleaned them, and followed this recipe that I found here.


Black Trumpet Linguine - recipe from the New York Times, adapted from "A passion for Mushrooms" by Antonio Carluccio
Serves 4, 15 minutes

Salt
1/2 pound fresh black trumpets
6 Tbsp. butter
12 ounces linguine
freshly grated nutmeg
freshly ground white pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3-4 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Plunge mushrooms into cold water several times to remove grit. Drain well and squeeze dry. Chop and set aside.
Heat 2 Tbsp. butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sprinkle with salt. Cook, stirring until well wilted and tender, about 10 minutes.
When mushrooms are dearly done, cook pasta until al dente. Remove about 1/4 cup cooking water and set aside. Drain pasta and transfer to a warm serving bowl. Add remaining butter, mushrooms, grated nutmeg and white pepper. Toss to mix, adding reserved water as needed. Add cheese, and toss until pasta is coated and ingredients are integrated. Sprinkle with chives and serve with additional cheese if desired.




It was absolutely delicious!


The mushrooms have a wonderful taste that infused the pasta.


We will definitely seek these beauties out again. They may look ominous and may even have the inaccurate nickname "mushroom of death", but they easily made it to top of my fall weather finds this year.