Mushroom Picking in the New Forest

Tell someone in the UK that you're going mushroom picking and they think of Super Mario, being poisoned and Amsterdam. Now I think about it, it sounds a bit like my student days. It's ironic that the UK is such an abundant source of mushrooms since most people in here don't even think about picking them. I remember when we went to the Lake District a few years ago, there were so many porcini everywhere and people didn't even notice them.

In Europe mushroom picking is just as common as fishing and so it's handy that my wife is Polish. We went to The New Forest over the weekend with another couple and the girlfriend is Swedish so between them, they were able to guide us to the right terrain and ensure we didn't pick anything that would have us climbing up the walls, or worse still in A&E getting our stomachs pumped. The New Forest is really easy to get to from London: Waterloo to Ashurst direct in 1hr 30 minutes. Rent a cottage with a nice open fireplace, pack your wellies and a map, and you're in business. The New Forest is a really nice part of the world. Typically English villages with thatched cottages and old-man pubs serving local ales. We came across this phone box that had been converted to an information booth.

And there are lots of wild ponies just wondering around too. Quite a site for city slickers like us.

Most people stick to the button mushroom variety - and there's nothing wrong with those, but why confine yourself - especially when you can pick your own food for free. It's actually quite a addictive thing to do as well. But you have to know what you're picking, or go with someone who does.

After going back to the cottage on first day completely empty handed, we weren't too optimistic on the second day but after a 5 mile hike, we found mainly bay boletes clustered in a mossy forest covered with pine trees.

On the way home we also got lucky and came across some chantrelles. On the last day we had a few hours to kill and found the king of mushrooms: the porcini. These are fantastic dried or fresh, and can be pretty hard to find. Here are a few of the poisonous ones to be careful of.

 

You can do so much with mushrooms. In Monika's holiday home in Poland they have a cellar with jars upon jars of preserved porcini. You can dry them for a more intense flavour in stews, soups or sauces. Or you can just pan fry them.

While we were there, we had the second day's gathering as a bruschetta. The best way to clean wild mushrooms are with a damp cloth or brush rather than washing them under water. There were nice and fresh. Just slice them up and pan fry them with butter and a little onion. Season to taste and serve on crispy warm bread.

When we got home the next day, we had about a kilo and a half of porcini. Bear in mind that they shrink a lot when you cook them as well so our collection was enough for a meal for two, plus my packed lunch the next day.

Monika again pan fried these with salt and pepper mixed them into fresh pasta and sprinkled some fresh parsley on top. Fresh porcini in the UK sells for around 45GBP - 60GBP per kilo at the market so I can't imagine how much this meal would have cost in a restaurant - plus you wouldn't get nearly as much porcini as we had. Probably the most expensive packed lunch in my office. Ever.