Sauted Hedgehog Mushrooms Recipe

Hedgehog mushrooms look a lot like highly prized chanterelles and have a wonderfully sweet and nutty flavor when they're fresh. As with many wild mushrooms, older specimens will take on a strong mineral flavor that is less than enticing. Avoid disappointment by only buying wild mushrooms from places with a high turnover rate so you don't get stuck with them when they're less-than-delicious. A fabulous way to cook hedgehogs is to quickly saut them in oil or butter and sprinkle them with salt. This is a great method with any kind of mushroom, and particularly useful with expensive or hard-won wild mushrooms since it lets the true flavor of the mushrooms shine. Serve the sauted hedgehog mushrooms warm or at room temperature. Mushrooms cooked this way are tasty served all on their own, but are also lovely tossed with pasta, added to pizzas, or piled on crostini atop a layer of creamy ricotta cheese. Sauted mushrooms add lots of flavor and a toothsome texture to all sorts of dishes, so feel free to experimentTo cook hedgehog mushrooms without stewing them, cook only as many mushrooms as will fit in the pan you have in a single layer over high heat. With that in mind, know that you can double, triple, etc. This recipe, just be sure to work in batches so the mushrooms are cooking in a single layer.