Les Poissonchats

The forest is a beautiful thing, and full of beautiful things too, and anytime I go into the forest, which isn’t very often though, I feel quite at home in it, quite myself, a little more myself than anywhere else, except for the sea in November perhaps. You can’t be anybody but yourself on a beach in November. As regards the forest, September and October are fabulous months, for they provide plenty of reasons to go into it, the cepes, the chanterelles, the yellow ones whose name I only know in French, translating as mutton feet, trumpets later. All the mushrooms. And there’s so many of them, once I see the first one, I see them all and like a child go here and there and down that little slope and around the bend until I’m utterly and completely lost. That is a wonderful thing too, getting lost, and reluctantly I put my phone on to guide me back on the muddy path.

The other day I found some really nice cepes and made them into a tasty ragout with fresh bread for apero. Outside. I have a stash of woolen blankets for those occasions.

What you’ll need

• A walk in the woods and someone knowledgeable, someone really knowledgeable, in the field of mushrooms. The right time, the right place. In case this proves to be a little tricky, ask around for fresh mushrooms, you can also take plain white mushrooms or shiitake, but in the end fresh mushrooms from the woods are just a notch tastier.
• Butter
• A little onion, finely diced
• Fleur de sel and ground black pepper
• A dash of Vin Jaune or Sherry
• 2-3 sprigs of fresh parsley
• 2-3 tablespoons of creme fraiche
• A loaf of fresh bread

How you cook it

Clean the mushrooms and slice them, heat in a cast iron pan and fry without any fat for a couple of minutes so to render any surplus liquid and get them golden brown. Add the butter once they’re done, reduce heat and add the onions. Season with salt and pepper and sizzle for a couple of more minutes. Deglaze with a dash of Vin Jaune. Add the parsley and the creme fraiche, take off the heat and keep warm.

Cut large slices of bread and brown in the pan for a couple of minutes on both sides. Place them on nice plates and add the mushrooms, serve hot.

How you eat it

Oh but the glorious days of autumn. We had ours on a sunny warm day, on the terrace with a glass of crisp white burgundy, but then I assure you it’s just as tasty on a rotten and vile day, wind howling around the house and rain beating against the window panes. Bon appétit!