Let your thoughts run free in the forest - and fill your stomach on the way.

AT HOME FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Wandering the woods in autumn and listening to the rustle of colourful leaves in the wind is one of the most relaxing activities I know. Depending on the day you can all sorts of edible berries and mushrooms to take back home. Most often we eat the mushrooms for dinner with pasta in a cream sauce - the whole forest atmosphere condensed into a simple dish bringing out the mushroom taste perfectly.

INGREDIENTS

Spaghetti, linguine or tagliatelle
Hand-picked mushrooms (add champignons if needed)
2 to 3 shallots
Butter
Cream
Salt & pepper
Parmigiano

POPULAR TYPES

Porcini / cep
Bay, birch and other bolete
Chanterelles
Black trumpets
Saffron milk cap
Sweet tooth

PICKING MUSHROOMS

Only pick the ones you can clearly identify.
Most poisonous mushrooms have lemellae.
Test firmness and check for feeding marks.
Cut the stipe far down but leave the mycelium.
Take some time to soak in the forest atmosphere.

1 Clean the mushrooms with a brush and a knife, without water. Discard any that are too soft or you can not identify. Cut away maggoty bits and cut everything into pieces of desired size (not too small though).

2 Heat up the butter in a big pan while cutting the shallots, then fry them for a bit on medium heat. Add the mushrooms and turn up the heat and add salt and pepper. Put some salted water to boil.

3 When most of the liquid is gone (usually fresh bolete don't loose a lot of water, but chanterelles might) add the cream and turn down the heat. Put the pasta into the boiling water.

4 Once the pasta is al dente and the sauce has reduced a bit, strain off the pasta water (without quenching). Sauce and pasta can be served separately or mixed in the pot. Optionally, add some grated parmegiano on top.

Guten Appetit!

© 2025 Tillmann Toben and respective copyright holders