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Spaghettini con Galletti (Spaghettini with Scottish Chanterelle )
Mary Contini says "This, for me, is the ultimate Scottish-Italian recipe: the marriage of wonderful Scottish wild chanterelle mushrooms and the garlic, olive oil combination of “aglio e olio”.
Chanterelle are prolific in Scotland from late summer until the first frosts of autumn. Apricot coloured and aromatic with a firm texture, their delicate flavour is perfect with pasta.
It goes without saying that, even although chanterelle are distinctive and easy to identify, don’t collect mushrooms from the wild unless you have been trained to identify them by a mycologist.
They are available in specialist shops."
Ingredients:
· 200g chanterelle mushrooms
· 5-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
· 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
· 1 small piece peperoncino (to taste)
· 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
· 320g spaghettini
Method:
Pick over the chanterelle carefully trimming off the base of the stem and using a damp paper towel to wipe off any soil or moss that may cling to them. Unlike porcini (cep), they are usually free of maggots. As long as they have been picked in good condition and aren’t waterlogged they are really easy to handle. Don’t be tempted to wash them; they soak up water at an alarming rate.
Cut any large chanterelle into pieces, but they do shrivel down a lot as they cook, so I prefer to leave them whole where possible.
Warm the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the chopped garlic and peperoncino and cook them gently to flavour the oil. I like this to have quite a kick so I use a generous amount of peperoncino. Raise the heat a little and add the chanterelle. They do release quite a lot of moisture as they cook, but this makes a lovely natural sauce for the pasta. Cook the mushrooms over a brisk heat to evaporate some of the moisture, tossing the mushrooms in the flavoured oil. Don’t overcook the chanterelle. They can become rubbery.
Season with Maldon sea salt and add the chopped parsley.
Cook the pasta, drain it well and toss it in the frying pan with the chanterelle coating it well.
Serve it piping hot.
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