Black Trumpet Cream
We went over to my mother-in-laws for a swim and I took a short walk through her woodsy backyard. Had it not been for my little daughter who excitedly shouted she found mushrooms, I would have completely missed the mass of black trumpets growing out of the ground. I collected about 2 pounds of them along with a handful of chanterelles. At first I was put off by the sickly sweet smell they were giving off–while some claim they smell like apricots, I would amend that description to “fruity chlorine”. I dried the larger ones in my dehydrator and kept the small ones for fresh use.
Black trumpets are an extremely easy to identify mushroom, with no toxic look alikes (although Satan’s Urn looks somewhat similar, it is bowl shaped with the edges curling in, instead of a trumpet flaring out.) They are also called, rather unappetizingly, “trumpet of the dead” due to the fact that there is some folklore surrounding them being trumpets played by the dead and buried. Their scientific name is kinder, Craterellus cornucopioides–cornucopia also known as the horn of plenty in Greek mythology which provides whatever food or drink requested of it.
I completely understand the fanaticism (and high price) of them now that I’ve made a simple cream sauce–they are said to take on truffle-like notes, but I would argue that they mimic truffles well enough that some people might even be confused.
Black Trumpet Cream
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 4 tablespoons minced fresh black trumpets
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 1/2 cup cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- Over medium high heat, sautee garlic in butter until fragrant. Add minced black truffles and cook until wilted.
- Add cream, salt and pepper to taste, and serve with eggs, steak, steamed vegetables, etc.