Had a nice walk today, with my mother in law's dogs. I was keeping an eye out for anything interesting on the way, and, luckily, growing from the trunk of a dead elder tree, spotted some jelly ear fungi.
So, because I'm a massive nerd, I checked them against Geoff Dann's book and the river cottage mushroom book, just in case.
So, wild jelly ear hot and sour soup, withthe sourness coming from the wood sorrell growing outside my front door.
To make it, I put 500ml of water in the pan, along with the mushrooms and 2 beef stock cubes, and boiled it all for 20 minutes or so.
Then, 1 tablespoon of grated ginger root and some chillies flakes, and a dash of dark soy sauce.
Finally, I added the sorrel and stirred a beaten egg in to thicken.
The flavour was hot and sour, obviously, but I couldn't get any distinct taste from the mushrooms. The texture, however, was where they really stood out. After boiling for the better part of half an hour, they still kept their shape and some elasticity - they were somewhere between slippery and rubbery, but by no means unpleasant.
Verdict: nice enough, and it's rewarding to be able to use wild ingredients, but I think the average person, who's not into wild food or foraging would struggle to be enthusiastic about them. That said, next time I see enough to merit picking, I'll do so.
Sorry for my bad photos, I was preoccupied with the cookery!
So, because I'm a massive nerd, I checked them against Geoff Dann's book and the river cottage mushroom book, just in case.
So, wild jelly ear hot and sour soup, withthe sourness coming from the wood sorrell growing outside my front door.
To make it, I put 500ml of water in the pan, along with the mushrooms and 2 beef stock cubes, and boiled it all for 20 minutes or so.
Then, 1 tablespoon of grated ginger root and some chillies flakes, and a dash of dark soy sauce.
Finally, I added the sorrel and stirred a beaten egg in to thicken.
The flavour was hot and sour, obviously, but I couldn't get any distinct taste from the mushrooms. The texture, however, was where they really stood out. After boiling for the better part of half an hour, they still kept their shape and some elasticity - they were somewhere between slippery and rubbery, but by no means unpleasant.
Verdict: nice enough, and it's rewarding to be able to use wild ingredients, but I think the average person, who's not into wild food or foraging would struggle to be enthusiastic about them. That said, next time I see enough to merit picking, I'll do so.
Sorry for my bad photos, I was preoccupied with the cookery!
