In Season: Black trumpets come along with the rain

With the lack of rain in December, wild-picked, moisture-loving mushrooms like black trumpets were scarce this past year, but now that rain has returned in January, we should be seeing more of them in our stores.

They are always wild-picked because they have so far defied all attempts to grow them commercially. I love ‘em. In Europe they’re known as “the poor man’s truffle,” and they do have a sweet, woodsy, earthy flavor and fruity apricot aroma that’s not as intense as porcinis but is in the same direction.

The European black trumpet carries the botanical name of Craterellus cornucopioides, and it’s occasionally found here in North America, its spores having been brought across the Atlantic in colonial times when European soil was used in ballast for trans-Atlantic sailing ships and dumped along the shores of the colonies.

The common North American black trumpet, especially in its preferred home from Northern California into Washington State, is Craterellus fallax, and culinarily, it’s pretty much indistinguishable from the European species. Botanists can tell them apart, but we ordinary mortals are hard pressed to do so.

Fortunately, there are no poisonous mushrooms that look like black trumpets. They are charcoal gray on the outside and dark brownish-black on the inside surface of the trumpet, which looks less like a horn than a small, 3-inch, soft, floppy flower. So, if you run across a stand of them, feel free to bring some home. When picking wild mushrooms, it’s best to follow the newspaper editor’s bromide: “When in doubt, leave it out.” My personal rule is “Don’t eat any mushroom I wouldn’t feed to my kids.” In other words, make darn sure you know what you’re harvesting from the wild.

All edible mushrooms, both wild and cultivated, are a healthy treat, full of minerals and substances that are hard to get elsewhere. According to the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, black trumpet mushrooms contain considerable amounts of biologically active vitamin B12. Since the dietary source of B12 for most of us is meat and eggs, vegans may be at risk for shortages of this essential vitamin. It’s good to know that black trumpets are a vegetable source.

Black trumpets, chanterelles, maitakes, morels, porcinis and many other choice mushrooms are a type of fungus called mycorrhizal fungi. The mushrooms we eat are not the main fungus itself, but merely its fruiting bodies. The main fungus lives in dense mats underground. It colonizes the roots of trees and woody plants. It doesn’t photosynthesize its own food but rather lives on a sweet, sticky, nutritious substance that the woody roots exude.

In return for this food, the fungus sends long slender filaments called hyphae (from the Greek word for web) far into the surrounding soil to scavenge for scarce minerals like phosphorus that it returns and feeds to the plant roots. It’s a symbiotic relationship that benefits both living organisms.

Just recently, scientists have discovered that the underground web of the fungus’s filaments not only harvests minerals and water for its host plants, but it also carries signals from plant to plant in a sort of vegetal internet. For instance, if a tree is attacked by insects, it can use this fungal internet to signal the trees around it to start producing insect repellent compounds in their leaves.

So, when you’re eating mushrooms, you’re not eating the long-lived main organism itself, but rather the short-lived mushrooms that are its reproductive organs.

I always precook any mushrooms before adding them to dishes like frittatas, eggs, stews, grits and savory hand pies. Cooking reduces the size of mushrooms due to the fact that they contain a lot of water when raw - water that’s evaporated during cooking. Don’t cut them into tiny pieces before cooking unless you want them to disappear in the finished dish.

Put butter or oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and add the raw sliced mushrooms. Stir frequently to coat the slices evenly. They’ll quickly absorb all the butter or oil. Keep stirring and it won’t be more than two or three minutes before they start to brown and yield up that oil back into the pan. They’ll acquire a lovely rich nutty, woodsy aroma as they brown. When browned, add them to whichever dish you’re cooking. Here’s one I love:

Pasta is not just a carrier for tomato-based sauce, no matter how good your Nona’s spaghetti was when you were a kid. Your taste is adult now. You’re ready for this bit of heaven.

Black Trumpet ?Linguine

Makes 4 servings

1/2 pound fresh black trumpet mushrooms

- Sea salt to taste

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

12 ounces linguine

1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Plunge mushrooms into cold water to wash out any grit. Drain and squeeze dry using a dish towel. Chop coarsely and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Cook, stirring, until wilted and tender, about six minutes.

When mushrooms are nearly done, cook pasta until al dente. Remove about 1/4 cup cooking water, and set aside. Drain pasta, and transfer to a warm serving bowl.

Add remaining butter, mushrooms, grated nutmeg and white pepper to the pasta. Toss to mix. Use reserved water as needed to maintain a loose texture. Add cheese, and toss to coat.

Garnish with chives, and serve immediately.

Jeff Cox is a Kenwood-based food and garden writer. Reach him at jeffcox@sonic.net.