Hedgehog mushroom and ham quiche

It’s mushroom week here on Justinsomnia, as Stephanie and I try to consume the 4.5 pounds of mushrooms I foraged with Danny at Salt Point State Park. First up, hedgehog mushroom and ham quiche.

Hedgehog mushroom and ham quiche

We followed this basic quiche recipe, adapted from the Culinary Institute of America’s New Professional Chef. Stephanie made the pie crust based on Michael Ruhlman’s recipe in Ratio. For the mushrooms I rinsed off the leaf bits, and then dry-sauteed them until we constructed the rest of the quiche.

2 Comments

Danny Dawson

I have to say, I’ve been largely underwhelmed by the hedgehogs. The first night we cooked them, they smelled and tasted similar to chanterelles, but since then I’m not sure they’ve had a discernible flavor.

The trumpets, OTOH, have been delicious every night. We probably only have enough left for a single meal. They are a pain to clean by brushing, but last night I tried a different method that was much more efficient:

Slice the trumpets in half lengthwise to expose the inside of the tubes. Fill a large bowl up with cold water, add the trumpets, agitate, then remove with a slotted spoon. Dump the water and repeat once more, then put them in a colander for a bit.

When it’s time to cook, put them all in a saute pan on high heat until they start to release their juices, at which point tilt the pan so the liquid runs to one side and the mushrooms stay on the other, over the heat. When the amount of liquid being released becomes negligible, remove the mushrooms into a bowl, pour out the broth into another bowl, then put the mushrooms back and finish cooking however you’d like. The released broth should be poured through a strainer to remove any leftover dirt, then put to good use – it’s tasty.

The tilted-pan method works for the hedgehogs, too, but I still just brush them, as they already contain enough water.

I don’t have much comparison for self-foraged mushrooms, but I thought the hedgehogs were alright. Definitely had that “of-the-woods” essence. Somewhat chewy. The quiche was certainly earthy—but it didn’t keep us from eating it. Lasted three dinners!

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