Chestnut Mushrooms

The Chestnut mushroom (Pholiota adiposa), is a wood loving mushroom that forms dense clusters of beautiful, brown-orange gilled mushrooms with a slightly shaggy cap. 

It can be mistaken for the Baby Bella or Crimini mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) because of their shape and color. However, Chestnut Mushrooms are not related to Portabellas or White button mushrooms which are grown in composted manure, while Chestnuts are grown in sawdust. 

This mushroom has a great texture and maintains its shape well even after cooking. It has a mild, earthy and nutty flavor. It excels in miso and other brothy soups, in stir fry, in Spaghetti sauce, as a pizza topping and so much more, retaining a pleasantly crunchy, chewy texture, as well as its’ shape and appearance.  

Potential Health Benefits:

Various studies point to this mushroom having anti-tumor and anti-microbial effects, as well as aiding with hypertension.

https://healing-mushrooms.net/archives/pholiota-adiposa.html

Chestnut Mushroom Bourguignon

Prep Time5 mins Cook Time15 mins Total Time20 mins  Servings: 2 Author: Kate Ford | The Veg Space

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 shallots or 1 small onion
• 10 baby / chantenay carrots
• 1 tsp ready-chopped garlic / garlic purée
• 250 g chestnut mushrooms
• 100 g button mushrooms
• 1½ tbsp plain flour
• 200 ml red wine
• 150 ml boiling water
• 1 tsp vegetable stock powder
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• handful fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Heat  the oil in a large frying pan or casserole over a high heat. Peel and  chop the shallots and add to the pan with the garlic. Trim and halve the  carrots lengthways, (or quarter them if they are large) and add to the  pan.
2. Clean and cut the chestnut mushrooms into quarters, and clean the button mushrooms. Add to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Stir  the flour through the mushrooms, then add the red wine. Bring to a  vigorous boil for a minute, then add the water, stock powder and tomato  purée. Cook over a medium to high heat until a thick, glossy sauce has  formed and the mushrooms are just cooked through but not too soft. Taste  and add salt and black pepper as necessary.
4. Roughly chop the parsley and stir two thirds through the bourguignon, then plate up and sprinkle over the remaining parsley.