Cantharellus Cibarius

For a few short weeks in July, you can find these little gems, "Cantharellus Cibarius" otherwise known as Chanterelle mushrooms. Cantharellus Cibarius is the scentific classification, Cantharellus being the genus and Cibarius the species (I'm trying to impress the family biologist here). Chanterelles are edible wild mushrooms which are harvested from local forests. They have been available for the last couple of weeks through our farmer's market and CSA.


Every year I look forward to these distinctively flavored, golden mushrooms that are well worth the wait and price. Not only are they golden in color but also golden priced. My favorite way to prepare these are to simply saute them in olive oil, with garlic and parsley and serve over rice or pasta.
In this recipe, I sauteed the the chanterelles as described above, but added shrimp and a light cream sauce. For the cream sauce, I reduced about 6 ounces of white wine and then added 1 cup of chicken stocked and reduced it further. I then added about 4 ounces of heavy cream, and a roux made with 2 tbs butter and 2 tbs flour. I let the sauce cook and thicken for a little longer and then tossed all the ingredients together with pasta. Simply delicious!