Creamy Chanterelle Mushroom Sauce Recipe For Pasta or Potatoes

Chanterelle mushroom sauce is arguably the best nordic comfort dish of the summer season, and from late spring to early fall it would be a sin not to make it as often as possible. It is a very simple and quick recipe, which is perfect for a summery lunch or dinner mixed with your favorite pasta or together with boiled potatoes and 1-3 day marinated pickles.

This recipe can also be made in a vegan version, for which you just have to leave out the smoked ham and replace the cooking cream used in this recipe with a vegan cooking cream alternative, which should be found in every store these days.

If at all possible, I recommend picking chanterelles from the forest yourself to make the sauce even more special. If there is no such possibility, chanterelles can be found at the local market and most grocery stores depending on where you live of course.

Ingredients for Chanterelle Mushroom Sauce

• Chanterelle mushrooms – During the chanterelle season you can pick the mushrooms from the forest yourself or get them from the local market. Be sure to clean the chanterelles from excess soil or other debris before cooking them. Larger chanterelles can be cut in half or into even smaller pieces, so that they cook faster and will be more pleasant to eat in the sauce. Smaller chanterelles can be left whole.
• Cooking cream – I personally use 15% cooking cream, which is the most convenient choice for all kinds of sauces. The 15% cooking cream is just thick enough for the chanterelle mushroom sauce that you don’t need to use sauce thickeners and low enough in fat that the flavors of the sauce don’t get lost in it and you don’t feel heavy after eating the sauce. There are many different plant-based options for cooking cream in most stores today, which means that this sauce can be also done in a vegan friendly version or for those with various dietary restrictions.
• Smoked ham/bacon – My personal favorite hams to use in the sauce are various country-smoked hams, which have a bit of lard/fat on it. Smoked bacon is also a good choice, but then be sure to choose a meatier piece of smoked bacon so that the sauce does not become too greasy. For the vegan option, this ingredient can simply be omitted entirely.
• Onion – one large white or red onion, whichever you prefer. One of the most important parts of the chanterelle sauce is to brown the chanterelles together with the onion, which gives the sauce just the right and special taste.
• Fresh parsley – a handful of fresh parsley makes the sauce fresher and gives it a nice green color. If for some reason it is not possible to use fresh parsley, it can be replaced with dried parsley.
• Salt and pepper – these two are the only necessary seasonings, everything else is unnecessary and will bury the taste of the delicious chanterelle mushrooms.
• Olive oil – a little olive oil helps to brown the ingredients. If the extra calories are not a problem, I definitely recommend adding a tablespoon of butter for browning the mushrooms and onions.

How to Cook Chanterelle Mushroom Sauce?

1. Cut the chanterelle mushrooms, onion and ham and chop the parsley – Cut the larger chanterelles in half or four smaller pieces, the smaller chanterelles can be left whole. Chopping large mushrooms helps them release liquid faster and cook more evenly. I recommend chopping or cutting the onion into small cubes, depending on what size onion pieces you prefer in the sauce.Cut the piece of ham into smaller cubes, however, be sure not to cut off and throw away the fatty part of the ham, as browning it gives the sauce its special taste in this recipe.
2. Brown the ham pieces – add a little olive oil to the pan and brown the ham pieces in the pan over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until they become slightly brown and crispy.
3. Cook the chopped chanterelles and onions with a pinch of salt and pepper – add the chopped onions and chanterelles to the pan on the browned ham and fry until the liquid has evaporated and until the mushrooms and onions are slightly caramelized. If necessary, add a little olive oil at this step, in case the fatty from the ham pieces and the previously added olive oil is not enough. You can also add a small piece of butter at this point if extra calories are not a problem.
4. Add the cream and chopped parsley to the pan and stir – turn the heat to low and pour all of the cooking cream and chopped parsley over the browned ingredients and stir the sauce.
5. Let the sauce simmer on low heat for 4-5 minutes, or until the sauce reaches your desired thickness. While simmering, stir the sauce from time to time so that the sauce does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
6. Serve the sauce with your favorite side dish. I recommend serving with boiled fresh potatoes and 1-3 day marinated pickles. The sauce is also perfect mixed with your favorite cooked pasta. Chopped fresh parsley or dill can be added on top of the sauce as a garnish.

Creamy Chanterelle Mushroom Sauce Recipe

A mushroom sauce recipe that is perfect for a nice summer lunch or dinner. Why not give it a go and try it out for your dinner idea tonight.

Ingredients (2 servings)

• ~2 cups / 0.45 lbs / 200g of chanterelle mushrooms
• 1.6 cups / 400ml of 15% cooking cream
• 150g country-smoked ham (a piece with a bit of lard/fat on it)
• 1 medium onion chopped
• A handful of fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon / 14 ml extra virgin olive oil
• A pinch of salt
• A pinch of ground black pepper

Optional:

• Some grated parmesan cheese on top of the sauce for extra flavor Chopped fresh parsley or dill can be added on top of the sauce as a garnish. Add a small piece (~1 tbsp.) of butter at the step of frying onions and mushrooms

Nutritional value per recipe (1 serving)

602 calories / 25.7 g protein / 18.8 g carbs / 47.7 g fat / 2 g fiber / 12.3 g sugar

Nutritional value per recipe (2 servings)

1203 calories / 51.5 g protein / 37.6 g carbohydrates / 95.5 g fat / 4 g fiber / 24.7 g sugar