This is the second part of the blog post ‘Foraging for a gourmet meal‘ so if you want to know how I found the mushrooms in the forest near my home read that one first.

I just thought I’d tell you about preparing the mushrooms because in my mind I thought I could stick them in the fridge until the next day or wash them with water but this is a no-no! Porcini mushrooms need to be kept dry, they taste best on the day of picking and they can be stored in the freezer or, more typically, dried.

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Cleaning, packing and cooking

My tools were a food brush, small sharp knife and some sheets of kitchen roll.

There are sometimes yellow stains, dirt and tiny bugs on the mushrooms. Don’t be alarmed, it’s just nature 😉

Basically I used my tools to slice, brush and wipe the mushrooms clean. Then I separated them up.

The ones with big long stems were for making breaded mushrooms later that evening.

The small perfectly formed ones were cut in half for frying into side dishes at a later date.

The big tops were taken off, sliced, packed in air-tight bags and frozen so they could be used later in soup.

How to make Mario’s breaded mushrooms

He likes to add grated parmesan, single cream, oil, salt, pepper and thyme to beaten egg. He then dips the mushroom stems into the mixture before coating them in breadcrumbs and frying until golden brown.

From forest to plate, the breaded mushrooms took 12 hours at a very leisurely pace.