It wasn’t like I was even planning to go foraging.
It was just a casual walk through a little woodland in South London on a random weekday. The usual.
Within minutes of entering this little place on my usual route, I spotted something glowing in the distance.
Tucked against the trunk of a tree, like something out of a fairytale, was a huge golden cluster of a mushroom known as chicken of the woods.
STARING AT ME LIKE…
It was thick and fleshy. This mushroom looked far too majestic to be real. Almost like something you’d find at the bottom of a coral reef.
People online were saying it looked like the mushroom monsters in The Last of Us.
Mind you, I had only ever been foraging twice before, and that was on a guided tour. I remembered that this specific mushroom was quite distinct in its appearance.
So I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to poison me - but apparently, after speaking to some mushroom experts, “pretty sure” isn’t sure enough, haha.
I also knew that they often grow on decaying and older wood. So, although I was hesitant to pick this thing up, I bravely went for it.
Lo and behold, I had stumbled upon a pot of gold. Well, the equivalent of that in the world of the mushrooms I guess.
I tried to get a chunk of this big cluster as carefully as I could with my hands, since I had no basket, knife, or anything like that.
From here on, I thought, “Yeah, let’s scrap this walk and go home to see what we can cook with this thing.”
Back home, I cleaned and carefully separated the mushroom into smaller, fillet sized clusters. The texture was so meat like, very much like how I remember chicken breast being.
I poached the pieces in a herb infused broth to soften and get some flavour in, then coated them in a savoury batter seasoned with dry chicken spices.
A quick dip in breadcrumbs, and into the hot pan they went to shallow fry with some oil.
What was the result you might think?
Golden brown, crispy vegan chicken fillets. Juicy on the inside, crunchy on the outside. A revelation.
I ended up having them with a dip of mayo on their own, but they’d be perfect as a schnitzel served with creamy mashed potatoes and a fresh salad,
Or thrown into a sandwich with slaw and hot sauce.
Honestly, I still can't believe this little adventure started with a walk and ended with one of the tastiest mushroom creations I've ever made.
I also sampled them in the form of this wonderful dish below too…
A phenomenal lemony “chicken” pasta that Lou made. I mean, how good does that look!?
We kindly got sent some Ottolenghi products. She ended up using the preserved lemon marinade one and it was absolutely banging.
The same principles of making this mushrooms apply here:
Poach it (essentially boiling it) till tender for approx 8-10 minutes. Even longer if it’s a tougher batch. You can of course throw in any herbs and spices here too.
Season or marinate it in a sauce of your choice.
Fry the pieces in a pan over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes or until they develop some char.
Serve and enjoy with whatever you fancy!
You may or may not have access to finding this type of mushroom where you are, but I’d sure keep an eye out on them if you do. Even if there’s a slim chance!
Actually thinking about it now, you may not even be bothered to go look for it.
In which case, I hope you enjoyed my little side quest of random foraging and cooking.
