29 October 2014
John Cage, a passionate and profound connoisseur of mushrooms, would have liked this book. Funghi is much more than a collection of recipes: it is a photographic catalogue of the underwood and an invitation to the exploration of secret places. For the chef Régis Marcon, in fact, going mushrooming means getting in touch with the woods, with their silence, their depths. You need to know how to look, to have patience, to be able to identify trees. All talents that can’t be improvised, but are learned over the years, as your knowledge grows. The book draws attention to the virtues of less well-known mushrooms, making them the unexpected protagonists of curious recipes, like mushroom tea (to be served as a first course), stewed peas and fairy ring mushrooms and desserts made from caramelized morels. A whirl of forms and colors, poised between gastronomy and the art of representation. Published by 24 Ore Cultura.
Hors d’oeuvre of dry mushrooms.
Couscous with vegetables and mushrooms.
Potato gnocchi and black and white morels with cream.
Salad with porcini, apples and chestnuts.
Boiled eggs with truffles.
Kebab of scallops and porcini neri (Boletus aereus).
Porcino (Boletus edulis) cap au gratin.
Spring mushrooms flavored with herbs and baked in foil.
Bouillabaisse de chanterelles.
“Dama bianca” ice cream flavored with porcino.
Régis and Jacques Marcon.
Photos by Philippe Barret.