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I had so much Ontario produce this week that I was considering giving the farmers' market a pass. Then I got an email from Seth at Forbes Wild Foods letting me know that he would have fresh chanterelle mushrooms that afternoon. Needless to say, I made a beeline for the market. I was there so early that Seth had barely begun to set up his booth. I waited patiently and chatted while he put out his jars of preserves and his dried mushrooms. He told me he had learned from experience that if he opened the fresh foraged goods too soon, he was inundated with people wanting the Saskatoon berries, the fiddleheads or the wild leeks and he can't finish setting up. The regulars of the market know enough to line up at Seth's booth to see what delight is going to appear each week.
I've never actually bought and cooked chanterelles before because they are around for a really short time and the cost is very high. I decided to splurge this year and give them a try and I was glad I did. I spent the entire drive north to the cottage thinking about how I was going to cook them, mulling over a number of possibilities in my mind. I wanted something simple that would allow the flavor of the chanterelles to shine through. My husband suggested that we go to the little farmers' market close to the cottage where we could some local smoked trout. There was a farmer there who smokes his own sausages and bacon and then I knew what I wanted to do with the mushrooms.
I bought a pound of his incredibly lean bacon to use as the foundation of the dish. I just used a couple of slices so I wouldn't overwhelm the mushrooms. There was so little fat on the bacon that I didn't need to pour any off. Then, in the same pan, I sautéed a shallot until it was translucent, then added the chanterelles and some fresh thyme from (my garden) and cooked them for about five minutes. Then I added about 1/4 cup or so of heavy cream. I spooned it onto toast, sprinkled a little sea salt and some freshly ground pepper and we had a heavenly meal.
Difficulty Level: Easy
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