Mycophilia

There are foods that make you wonder how they came to be eaten. For instance, raw olives are phenomenally bitter. They have to be cured in salt for several weeks before they’re edible. Who figured that out? Or how about poi? The raw taro root (a corm actually) contains needle-like structures that cause severe stomach pain. It has to be cooked to destroy the needles, but why would you think cooking something inedible would make it edible?

You can theorize that such discoveries are accidental; perhaps some olives were exposed to sea water and then found to be edible. And maybe someone tossed some taro into a pot not knowing it was supposed to make you sick — and no one got sick. But here’s the food that bothers me the most: mushrooms.

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well. ~ Virginia Woolf

Many varieties are will make you sick and some will kill you. The problem is, a lot of those mushrooms we know to be safe look almost exactly like mushrooms that definitely aren’t safe. So who was fool enough to keep eating them until they figured out the small differences between the safe ones and the dangerous ones?

I was pondering on this the other night. A friend of mine had sent me some dried wild mushrooms he’d picked in Oregon and I decided to take advantage of them by making mushroom bisque. I heated some chicken stock on the stove and then dumped the wild mushrooms in it to rehydrate, and as I did so I wondered how skilled my friend was at mycology. But, he’s been picking mushrooms for a few years, and hasn’t killed himself — yet.

Mushroom Bisque
Serves 4.

2 oz dried wild mushrooms
1 1/2 pounds assorted fresh mushrooms (button, shitake, porcini, …) — coarsely chopped
1/2 c red wine (optional)
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp fresh thyme
2 shallots — chopped
salt
1 1/2 c chicken stock
1 c half and half
1 tsp ground black pepper

Bring chicken stock to a boil in a small sauce pan, remove from heat, and add dried mushrooms. Steep mushrooms for 30 minutes while you prep remaining ingredients, then strain liquid through a coffee filter in a sieve to eliminate any dirt.

Place a soup pot over medium high heat and add half of the mushrooms (Note, do not oil the pan.) Sprinkle generously with sauce and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, until the mushroom have reduced by half. Add remaining mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, and add thyme and shallots. Continue cooking until the volume is again reduced to half.

Add wine and reduce to a syrup. Add butter and toss with mushrooms to melt. Add rehydrated mushrooms and stock. Bring to a vigorous simmer, then reduce heat and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Add half and half. Puree soup using either an immersion blender or standing blender. Return to heat and warm thoroughly.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream or crèam fraîche.

Elise at Simply Recipes offers a similar recipe.

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