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Eat this: Chanterelles

Golden chanterelle mushrooms are booming on the Central Coast.
Golden chanterelle mushrooms are booming on the Central Coast. Credit: Pixabay

Eaters Digest is a space to share one thing to eat or drink this week, and normally I highlight a specific dish at a restaurant or pop-up that’s worth seeking out. But right now, how could the star of this column be anything but chanterelles?

This fluted, golden mushroom is one of the most popular edible mushrooms, and due to the wet and cold weather we’ve had, it’s exploding everywhere right now. Golden chanterelles, or Cantharellus cibarius, grow widely throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains, especially near oak trees, and foragers in the know are harvesting them by the buckets. It seems like every other photo on my Instagram feed is a picture of someone’s chanterelle bonanza or a basket overflowing with creamy yellow beauties. 

Every chef who boasts using seasonal and local ingredients has probably gotten their hands on some, and they’re working their way into all kinds of dishes. Chef Todd Parker has revived his chanterelle and guanciale pizza at Bookie’s for the season, and chef Nick Sherman has created a chanterelle pasta with porcini butter at Trestles in Capitola, to name a few. Keep an eye on the specials menu at your favorite restaurant.

I’ve also been impressed with the quality of the chanterelles available at local grocery stores like Shopper’s Corner and New Leaf Markets, where they sell for around $17 a pound. They are often freshly harvested and perky, with bits of forest floor still stuck to them. 

At home, I swish them around in a bowl of water to clean them (they’ll be fine, trust me), chop them up and sautée them in a dry pan on medium-high heat until they’re nice and brown. From there, I add my cooking fat, salt and any other flavors to create the dish I want. An easy one to start with is a simple butter and chanterelle pasta with just a bit of garlic, finished with a big spoonful of ricotta and a bit of parm. Don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy this special mushroom that tastes of apricots and black pepper.

Best of the Week Ahead

Below, find a curated list of the best food and drink events in Santa Cruz County for the coming week. At the top, I share my picks of unmissable local happenings.

Credit: Instagram

Best of Santa Cruz County food & drink events, Feb. 2-8

News of the week

ICYMI – Here are the food news stories from Lookout that you might have missed, plus important news from beyond our borders picked by yours truly.

Lily Belli is the food and drink correspondent at Lookout Santa Cruz. Over the past 15 years since she made Santa Cruz her home, Lily has fallen deeply in love with its rich food culture, vibrant agriculture...