Seasonal Pantry: Gourmet Mushrooms a great spot for fabulous fungi at bargain prices

On most Friday afternoons from 1 to 3 p.m., Gourmet Mushrooms, which grows and harvests organic specialty mushrooms in Sebastopol. hosts a farm sale when anyone can stop by and purchase their mushrooms at wholesale prices. The mushrooms are sold in 3-pound bags, and you must pay with cash; prices range from $15 to $30 a bag, depending on species.

Three pounds of mushrooms is a lot. If you are not feeding a crowd, consider having a neighbor or two go in on a bag or two. You can also freeze mushrooms after they have been cooked.

Gourmet Mushrooms was founded in the late 1970s by Malcolm Clark, a Canadian biologist with a passion for fungi. He chose Sebastopol for two primary reasons. The shiitake, which was his first commercial species, thrives in the same temperate climate as our Gravenstein apple. Also, the region’s proximity to forest mushrooms was a factor, as the company sold wild fungi around the world for several decades.

At its peak in the late 20th century, Gourmet Mushrooms grew about 20 different kinds of mushrooms and foraged many more. But as the company has grown, it has narrowed its focus. Gone are the shiitakes that put the company on the national and world maps and gone are the foraged mushrooms that once fed Europe.

Today, the company specializes in seven varieties that are widely available and has three more species under development. They also produce products for the health industry, most of which are sold under other labels.

On Fridays, a large bottle of nutriceutical powder - a blend of dried mycelium and mushrooms - is available for $50; the current blend is Mycoplex-7. Both mycelium and certain mushroom varieties offer a boost to one’s immune system and are believed to fight certain diseases as well.

If you are used to adding a lot of other ingredients to mushrooms or incorporating mushrooms into complex dishes, try one of these recipes. They highlight the beautiful flavors and textures of the mushrooms grown and harvested by one of Sonoma County’s agricultural gems.

Gourmet Mushrooms is located at 2901 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, across from Merry Edwards Winery. Open to the public only on Friday afternoons from 1 to 3 p.m. For more information, visit mycopia.com.

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This technique is for use with the fungi produced by Gourmet Mushrooms. It will also work with oyster mushrooms from other producers. However, you shouldn’t use it for commercial white mushrooms or criminis, which contain a high percentage of water that must be cooked off before removing them from the heat. I also find that those commercial varieties tend to absorb butter quite quickly and require about twice the amount to cook properly.

Simple Sautéed ?Mushrooms

Serves 3 to 4

1 tablespoons butter

8 ounces mushrooms, broken into small pieces or sliced

- Kosher salt

- Black pepper in a mill

Set a heavy skillet or sauté pan over medium heat, add the butter and, when it is melted, add the mushrooms. Use a metal spatula to turn them in the butter, reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and cook gently for 5 minutes. Lift the lid, turn the mushrooms, replace the lid and cook another 3 to 5 minutes. Check for tenderness and continue to cook until they are fully tender.

Season with salt and a few turns of black pepper and remove from the heat. Enjoy neat or use as suggested below.

Serving suggestions:

Set a soft cheese, such as Bellwether Farm’s Crescenza or sheep’s milk ricotta, on a plate, spoon the mushrooms on top and serve with hot crusty hearth bread, such as Revolution Bread’s whole wheat sourdough.

Spoon over creamy polenta and top with chopped Italian parsley.

Spoon over farro or barley that has been cooked until tender and tossed with a bit of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Top with grated lemon zest and chopped Italian parsley.

Fold a generous spoonful into two hot but soft corn tortillas, one on top of the other, add a few shakes of your favorite Mexican hot sauce and top with fresh cilantro or epazote. You can add some crumbled Cotija (Mexican cheese) if you like, too.

Use as an omelet filling, with or without grated Vella Mezzo Secco or similar cheese.

Spoon over grilled ribeye steaks, grilled chicken thighs or braised rabbit in mustard sauce.

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This strudel may be made a day in advance, covered and kept in the refrigerator until 30 minutes before cooking. Use a single kind of mushroom or use a melange of several, though it is best if they are all of a similar texture. This is important not just for cooking time but for mouthfeel.

Mushroom Strudel

Serves 6 to 8

For dough :

3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup old-fashioned cream cheese (see Note below), at room temperature

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup heavy cream

For filling:

4 tablespoons butter

1 large shallot, minced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound specialty mushrooms, such as maitake, Trumpet Royale, Velvet Pioppini or clamshell, broken or sliced (see Note below)

- Kosher salt

- Black pepper in a mill

4 ounces St. George cheese (from Joe Matos), grated

3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 egg white mixed with 1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted

To make the dough: Put the butter and cream cheese into the work bowl of a sturdy mixer or a large bowl if you will mix by hand. Beat thoroughly until smooth. Add the flour and salt, a bit at a time, and mix well. Add the cream, mix thoroughly, gather the dough into a ball, wrap tightly for at least 1 hour and as long as overnight.

To make filling: Heat the 4 tablespoons of butter in a heavy skillet set over medium-low heat. Add shallots and sauté for about 7 minutes, until they are soft and fragrant; add the garlic and sauté 2 minutes more.

Add the mushrooms and use a metal spatula to turn them in the butter. Cook, with the heat on low, until they have completely softened; it will take from 10 to about 12 minutes, depending on species. Season with salt and pepper, remove from the heat, and cool.

To finish the strudel: Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before using it.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan or baking sheet with parchment. Dust a work surface with flour and roll out the dough to form a rectangle approximately 10-by-12 inches. Carefully set the dough on top of the parchment-lined sheet pan.

Scatter the cheese lengthwise down one side of the dough, leaving an outer margin of about three-quarters of an inch.

Spread the mushrooms on top of the cheese and scatter the scallions over the mushrooms. Brush the inside edges of the dough with the egg white and fold pastry over the mushrooms. Use a fork to press down and seal the dough.

Brush the top of the pastry with the egg white, sprinkle the sesame seeds on top, and slash the pastry crosswise every 2 inches, being careful not to cut too deep. Set on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Cut into crosswise slices and enjoy right away.

Note: Mushrooms should be broken into small clusters or, in the case of Trumpet Royales, cut into thin (no thicker than quarter-inch) slices before you sauté them.

Michele Anna Jordan is the author of 24 books to date, including “A New Cook’s Tour of Sonoma.” Email her at michele@micheleannajordan.com.