Like a walk in the forest, Mushrooms on a toast

My blue rubber boots, a woven basket and the smell of humus and wood: those are the memories I keep from the mushrooms hunting in the woods I did with my parents and my sister, when I was a child. It was mostly on grey saturday mornings, we wore our not so pretty outfits to face the chilly temperatures and the humidity, to walk around in the forest, looking for all kinds of mushrooms.

Coming across a Amanita muscaria when you are a child is quite an experience. As we were told, and rightly so, that they are poisonous, I couldn't help but being afraid, but at the same time it makes you really curious. And in my child's mind, it got me wondering if Alice was anywhere around, chasing after a white rabbit or listening to a caterpillar.

Black trumpets are the ones we picked the more often, but we found the occasional Wood Hedgehog or when we got really lucky, some Ceps (Porcini)! The ones we had a doubt about, we left behind or showed our local pharmacist to make sure they were edible. Enjoying them as we came back home, and drying them to have some more during the winter.

Working with mushrooms always brings back those memories, making me want to go back, even if I hadn't been in the forest in years. Those mushrooms are cultivated, but I enjoy them a lot. Obviously this recipe works with every mushroom at hand, if you're not on a budget (like me) I can only recommand you a Morel version, absolutly delicious, but oh so pricey.

"Croûte aux champignons", Mushrooms on a toast

Serves 1

250gr of Mushrooms (brown button mushrooms here)
1 Shallot
2 Tablespoons of Parsley
2 Tablespoons of White Wine
2 Tablespoons of Soy Cream
Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of Fresh Chive
2 Quail Eggs
1 Slice of Bread
Salt, Pepper

Clean your mushrooms with a wet paper towel and cut the base of the feet off. Slice the mushrooms, about 2-3 millimeters thick.

Dice the shallot, and in a non sticky frying pan, add a bit of olive oil. Put the pan on a medium heat and add the shallot with a bit of salt and let them get a bit transparent, before adding the parsley.

Now add the slices of mushroom and let them cook for about 10 minutes, so most of their water steams out. Add the white wine at this point, and let it reduce almost completly before adding the soy cream (or regular one if you prefer). Check for seasoning, add salt and pepper to your taste, and just keep it warm.

On a slice of (preferably) whole wheat bread, drizzle a bit of olive oil. Using a toaster, or the grill of your oven, get the slice to a nice golden color.

Again, in a non sticky frying pan, that you brought to heat without any fat, cook your quail eggs, sunny side up, for about 3 minutes, try to keep the yolk a little runny.

On the service plate, place the toasted bread, add the mushrooms on it and on top, place both quail eggs. Sprinkle with fresh chives, and enjoy while it's hot!