This is the time of year for fresh wild mushrooms in Paris. The marchés have mounds of fresh mushrooms for sale. The best ones are girolles (what Americans call chantrelles) and cepes — big, meaty mushrooms the size of baseballs.
Restaurants routinely feature fresh mushrooms on their menus, usually with chicken, veal or white sea bass. Other restaurants just serve sauteed mushrooms by themselves. Either way, you are in for a treat as the mushrooms are in season for only a few short weeks, until later in the winter when the prized black truffle — near the price of gold — is sold. Try Violon d’Ingres, La Chaumette, Les Cocottes, or Josephine (Chez Dumonet) — but check in advance to be sure their daily menus feature fresh mushrooms.
One of our favorite marchés to buy mushrooms is at Rue Cler, where Julia Child shopped when she lived in Paris. The market has changed little since the 1950s when she shopped there. Don’t miss out this season for one of the best treats in Paris, as this truly won’t last!
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Any tips on the best way to prepare your sauteed mushrooms?
One recipe I used to teach in my cooking classes was jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes) with mushrooms. Peel the ‘chokes, slice thinly, and sauté them with a lot of garlic and olive oil. Add the ‘shrooms, (any wild mushrooms are good) and sauté with some chopped parsley. Add salt and pepper…yum!
Another tip I learned from Joel Robuchon: first clean the mushrooms, then blanche in boiling water for maybe a minute. Then saute in butter for a few minutes. I add veal stock (I make my own), and then when the stock reduces add creme fraiche at the end. You can add thyme if you want, but that is not really necessary. It is terrific with sauteed chicken, veal or steak.