Fabulous Fungi Forage Extra

...three recipes for what's out there in the woods

Fungi foragers on the loose in the wildwood need to know what's likely to be there (above is a chicken-of-the-woods, a full handspan in size, meaty and firm). Habitat is the best guide to what right and what’s not: fungi need the right host plant to reproduce. Timing matters: avoid anything that's popped up its head over the parapet out of season (morels, a spring mushroom, are a a bad idea in autumn) or that seems to be solitary when it should be in company (a single chanterelle is probably not what it seems). When gathering, twist firmly at the base of the stalk, or use a sharp knife (you buy special folding knives, Swiss-made, equipped with a stiff little brush) - leaving the fragile underground root-system, mycelium, to bear fruit another day. Any and all fungi, including cultivated varieties, are interchangeable in the recipes.