Cinnabar Chanterelle Recipe - Chanterelle Corn Chowder

The end of summer is drawing near, but the bounty of the season is all around. The local farm share we receive has been packed with tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers. The orchards are advertising pick-your-own peaches and early apples. Autumn olive berries (Eleagnus umbellata) are ripening early and spicebush berries (Lindera benzoin) are turning red. And the mushrooms! The fungi! It was a dry July and early August, but recent rains have soaked the ground and we are picking cinnabar chanterelles (Cantherellus cinnabrinus), black trumpets (Craterellus fallax), and bicolor boletes (Boletus bicolor) by the bag. The cinnabar chanterelles are extra large this year, and we decided to cook up some corn chowder with them and some of the new potatoes from the farm. The chanterelles add a subtle pepper taste to the soup, and amazing texture and color. While some folks might think this recipe makes 6 servings, in our house it was gone after one meal. If you use vegetable broth, this is a vegan recipe.


Chanterelle Corn Chowder                 makes about 6 servings

6 Tbsp oil
1/2 c. chopped onion
3c. loosely packed chanterelles, cleaned
5 Tbsp flour
4 c. hot chicken or vegetable broth
1 c. diced potato
2 c. raw corn kernels (about 2 ears)
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp chopped scallions
fried chanterelles for garnish

1. Over medium heat in a large saucepot, heat the oil and onion and sautee for 30 seconds. Add the chanterelles and cook 2 minutes, stirring often. The chanterelles will break up a bit.
2. Sprinkle the flour over the onion/chanterelle mix in the pot, and use a wire whisk to stir until the flour is lightly toasted, about 1 minute. This will look like a lumpy mess, breaking up the chanterelles more.
3. While whisking, add the hot broth to the pot. Add the diced potatoes and corn. Turn the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil, stirring often as it thickens. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook 8-10 minutes until the potatoes are tender. If the soup is too thick, add more broth.

4. Season with the salt and chopped scallions. To garnish the soup, I dredged some chanterelles in corn flour and fried then until crisp, and added them to the top.

A big pile of cleaned cinnabar chanterelles