Celebrating Minnesota’s Wild Produce
By Andrew Zimmern
Are you ready to explore Minnesota’s rich forests? Let’s create a couple meals from wild, foraged mushrooms. In this episode of Wild Game Kitchen, I’m making a simple grilled wild mushroom salad, paired with fresh herbs and a bright sherry vinaigrette. Then, it’s all about homemade fresh cavatelli pasta with golden chanterelles. My hand-shaped pasta is tossed with grilled chanterelles and a rich buttery garlic sauce with thyme and colatura, the Italian fish sauce that adds an umami bomb of flavor. Throughout the episode, I share essential knowledge about mushroom identification, cleaning techniques, and the importance of sustainable foraging practices.
Grilled Wild Mushroom Salad
Ingredients
- 3 pounds mixed wild mushrooms (maitake, chanterelles, enoki, king trumpets, etc)
- 3 tablespoons minced shallots
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1/4 cup sherry wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley, plus more for garnish
- 1 tablespoon minced sage
- 4 sprigs rosemary, plus 1 tablespoon minced rosemary
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- Grilled bread, for serving
Instructions
Prepare a grill for high direct heat cooking.
Clean 3 pounds of wild mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Trim off any discolored or mushy rotten ends or parts. Cut large mushrooms in half, or quarters, as needed.
Place the mushrooms in a large bowl. Add the shallots. Season with black pepper.
In a separate bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon zest and sherry vinegar. Pour this mixture over the mushrooms. Sprinkle the minced parsley, sage and rosemary over the mushrooms. Gently toss to evenly coat. Set aside.
Next, brush the whole rosemary sprigs with olive oil. Grill over medium direct heat. Cook until the rosemary starts to blacken. Remove, pull the rosemary leaves from the stems and add to a mortar and pestle with 2 tablespoons kosher salt. Grind with the pestle. Reserve the charcoal rosemary salt to season the dish.
Grill the mushrooms over direct high heat until browned and tender, flipping to cook evenly. This should only take a few minutes. Compose on a small platter.
Combine the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons vinegar and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over the mushrooms. Garnish with additional minced parsley and the rosemary salt. Serve with grilled bread.
