Tasty recipes from three of the coast’s most beloved inns showcase Mendocino’s abundant local mushrooms
Mendocino County has over 3000 species of mushrooms, and over 50 inns. At the intersection of the two you’ll find some very talented chefs working their culinary magic with the chanterelles, candy caps, porcinis, hedgehogs and other varieties of fungi that are especially abundant in fall and winter.
Below we’ve shared a few favorite recipes from the culinary teams at Stanford Inn & Resort, Brewery Gulch Inn, and Little River Inn. You can make them with store-bought local mushrooms, or those you’ve foraged yourself.
So tuck “inn” and enjoy the magic embodied in Mendocino County mushrooms!
Mushroom Farro Risotto
This hearty risotto from Little River Inn features a soubise (onion sauce), gremolata (a lemon-garlic garnish), and works best with Italian pearled farro. You can use locally foraged or store-bought chanterelles.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Italian pearled farro
- 1 cup chanterelle mushrooms
Soubise
- 2 cups shallots rough chopped
- 1/4 lb butter unsalted
- 1 cup white wine
- 4 cups heavy cream
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 1/2 bunch thyme fresh
- Salt to taste
Gremolata
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs toasted
- 1 lemon zested
- 1 clove garlic micro-planed
- 1/2 bunch thyme finely chopped
- 1/2 bunch parsely finely chopped
Instructions
Cook the farro
- Fill a large pasta pot with salted water and bring to a boil at high heat.
- Once at a boil, pour 2 cups of Italian pearled farro in and cook for about 12 minutes, or until farro is al dente.
- Pour into a colander to drain off water.
Make the gremolata
- In a small mixing bowl combine the bread crumbs, lemon zest, micro-planed garlic, thyme and parsely.
- Mix all ingredients together until well-blended and set aside.
Make the soubise
- Place all ingredients in an oven-safe dish, cover tightly with foil, then roast in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes until shallots are soft and have a slightly golden caramelization.
- Pour this mixture into a medium size pot and add heavy cream and thyme
- Bring this mixture up to a simmer and cook on medium-low for 30 minutes.
- Take out the thyme sprigs then pour the contents of the pot into a blender and blend on high until smooth. Add the sherry vinegar, and blend some more.
- Taste and season with salt accordingly.
Roast the mushrooms
- Brush dirt off the mushrooms, and place on a rack and allow excess moisture to dry.
- Add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil to a large saute pan on high heat, and heat until very hot (to its smoke point)
- Add mushrooms to the pan, being careful not to overcrowd them.
- Allow mushrooms to roast for 60-90 seconds without moving or touching them.
- Turn mushrooms over and sear the other side for 60-90 seconds.
- Turn the heat off and add 2 tbsp of butter. Swirl the butter and mushrooms around the pan and allow the residual heat to melt and baste the mushrooms.
Assemble all the pieces
- Add about 6 oz of the soubise to a sauté pan on medium-high heat.
- Once it starts to bubble a bit, add a couple of mushrooms and the cooked farro.
- Allow the mixture to reduce a bit.
- Once the sauce has reduced enough to coat the farro, turn off the heat and add 2 tbsp of butter, stirring constantly.
- Season with salt to taste.
- Spoon desired amount of risotto into pasta bowl, garnish with a few butter-roasted mushrooms.
- Sprinkle with the gremolata.
Wild Mushroom Crepe
A scrumptious crepe from Stanford Inn & Resort in Mendocino that uses boletes, porcini, chanterelle or hedgehog mushrooms
Ingredients
Herb crepe
- 2 cups silken tofu
- 1 cup chickpea flour
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp chives finely chopped
- 1 tsp parsely finely chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- soy milk for thinning
Crepe filling
- 2 cups bolete or porcini mushrooms dried
- 1 cup white wine or vegetable broth
- 2 cups wild chanterelle or hedgehog mushrooms fresh
- 2 yellow or white onions sliced into half-moons
- 4 shallots cut into half-moons
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp white pepper
- 1 tsp green pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme minced
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 4 oz chives minced
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 2 tsp golden balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp ume plum vinegar
- 8 cups raw spinach chopped
Instructions
Process to make the herb crepe
- Combine all ingredients except finely chopped chives and parsley in a high-speed blender. Blend until completely smooth. Batter will resemble a thick pancake batter.
- Stir in finely chopped parsley and chives. Refrigerate, letting the batter rest in the fridge, covered, for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat a nonstick pan, griddle, or cast-iron pan over medium heat. Use spray oil if concerned about the crepe releasing from the pan/griddle.
- Ladle desired amount of batter into pan (recommend approximately ¼ cup per crepe), and gently spread batter in a circular motion with ladle to thin the crepe. Crepes will be about ¼ inch thick each.
- Brown crepe for 2–3 minutes per side and set aside until ready to fill.
Process for the crepe filling
- Combine dried boletes and white wine in sauté pan over medium heat and cook until mushrooms are soft, about 5–7 minutes.
- Allow mushrooms to cool, then remove from skillet, cut into small pieces, and set aside.
- Using the same skillet combine wild mushrooms, onions, shallots, garlic, salt, white and green pepper, and olive oil, and sauté. over medium heat until slightly brown and soft, about 10–12 minutes.
- Add fresh and dried thyme and chives to the mushroom mixture. Deglaze pan with wine, mirin, golden balsamic vinegar, and ume plum vinegar.
- Add spinach and stir to combine.
- Gently combine mushroom and spinach mixture with the boletes; taste and season with salt and pepper.
Assembly
- Place a heaping cup of mushroom mixture on one half of a crepe, fold the crepe, and drizzle with balsamic reduction.
Notes
For thinner, crispier crepes, omit tofu, water, garlic, and nutritional yeast and replace with 1 cup soy milk. To cook, ladle ¼ cup batter into pan and quickly swirl it around to thinly coat the bottom of the pan. Flip when edges brown and begin to curl up, and cook for 1 minute on the other side.
Chanterelle Mushroom Pasta With Creamy Cambozola Sauce
This peppery, garlicky, nutty pasta from Brewery Gulch Inn in Mendocino will get your taste buds firing on all cylinders.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces olive oil
- 1 pound penne pasta, cooked
- 4 red peppers, roasted and julienned
- 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons shallots, minced
- 45 local chanterelle mushrooms, stemmed and quartered 4 ounces white wine
- 4 ounces Cambozola cheese
- 8 ounces heavy cream
- 4 ounces fresh spinach
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Roasted pistachios for garnish
Instructions
- In a large skillet or sauté pan, heat oil until almost smoking.
- Add mushrooms, peppers, garlic, and shallots. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add white wine and reduce until almost dry.
- Add cream and cheese and cook until incorporated and sauce is desired consistency.
- Add salt and pepper, spinach, and basil.
- At the last minute, add cooked pasta and coat with sauce.
- Garnish with roasted pistachios.
