It’s early October in British Columbia and time to forage for wild mushrooms! This year, Gluten Lips found pounds and pounds of golden chanterelles in his secret foraging location in the lower mainland. For those who don’t know, chanterelles are a beautiful edible mushroom with a delicate, fruity flavour. They are distinctively colored a golden yellow and have an interesting appearance which makes them relatively easy to recognize. They are also perfect for cooking and are a staple in cuisine around the world, especially in France.

While there are some non-edible look-alikes that you need to watch out for (i.e. known as ‘false chanterelles’), it is pretty easy to tell the difference if you do your research. One of the easiest ways to determine whether a mushroom is a chanterelle is to break it in half and give it a whiff. If it smells like apricots, you’ve got a chanterelle!

After a few hours of picking, Gluten Lips gathered something like 20 pounds of chanterelles! We gave half to a close friend and worked on figuring out the best way to use the other half. We ultimately made several batches of our delicious “gluten and dairy free cream of wild chanterelle soup”, which was lovely. We also used some of the chanterelles as a topping on nachos, which was a nice addition (but not as flavorful and delicious as the soup). 

Here is our recipe for chanterelle soup. While you can certainly make this using store-bought chanterelles, there is nothing more satisfying than making them with wild chanterelles that you have foraged yourself. 

We hope you enjoy this soup as much as we did! If you find a lot of chanterelles, this soup is also a great way to save the chanterelles for later. Chanterelles do not keep in the fridge for more than 10 days, and they lose their flavor when dried. However, the soup keeps very well if frozen and retains its delicious flavor!

Gluten and Dairy Free Cream of Wild Chanterelle Soup

Ingredients

• 2 pounds chopped chanterelles
• 1 diced onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• ¼ coconut cream
• 1 tsp fresh sage chopped
• 1 tsp fresh thyme chopped
• 4 cups water
• 1 tsp chicken bouillon paste
• Salt & black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a saucepan, fry onions in avocado oil until translucent and they start to brown making sure to stir frequently.
2. Add chopped chanterelles and cook until they have shrunk to about half the size (they will let off some liquid during this time).
3. Add the herbs and garlic and continue frying for another two minutes. Take out a few pieces of the chanterelles to use as garnish when serving. 
4. Add bouillon paste, water and coconut cream and bring to a boil.
5. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
6. Blend the soup using a stick blender, until smooth and only small mushroom bits remain.
7. Serve with fried chanterelles, fresh parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

Next we made a wild chanterelle gluten free pasta. It was also delicous and we really loved this recipe!

Gluten Free Wild Chanterelle Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 lb wild chanterelles, whole
• 1 diced onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp avocado oil
• Handful of parsley
• Gluten free pasta
• 1 cup of pasta water reserved
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Boil water for the pasta.
2. Clean mushrooms with a dry paper towel or brush, avoiding getting the mushrooms wet.
3. Dice the onion and garlic.
4. Warm a large skillet over medium and add avocado oil.
5. Add onions to the pan and cook until translucent and soft.
6. Add garlic and chill flakes and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant.
7. Add whole mushrooms and cook for 7-10 minutes, until soft.
8. Cook pasta according to directions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and put to the side.
9. Drain pasta and add to skillet and stir. Add some of the reserved water to help incorporate the pasta. This will also make the dish taste creamy.
10. Garnish with parsley and salt and pepper. Serve. Drizzle with olive oil if desired.

Did You Enjoy This Article?

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like to read about our other culinary adventures sharing our gluten-free and dairy-free experiences such as Turf Bistro in Kitsilano, Dinner at Tasty Indian Bistro in Yaletown, and Earnest Ice Cream English Bay Food Truck.