Lee and I found a few handfuls of beautiful chanterelles (Cantharellus formosus) along the Mendocino Coast last week, which had us feeling very excited to dig into my birthday gift to him this year: the “Fantastic Fungi Community Cookbook”! Coincidentally, we had just attended a webinar with the author of this delightful culinary creation, Eugenia Bone, and her praise of the “Pork with Chanterelles and Apricot Jam” recipe that was included in the text really caught our attention. We knew we had to try it!
Featured in this blog is the full “Pork with Chanterelles and Apricot Jam” recipe, process photos of our concoction, a few tips from Lee and me, and our overall reviews at the bottom! We both recommend this recipe.
Recipe from:
Edited and with essays by Eugenia Bone
Recipes from the Fantastic Fungi Community
“The Fantastic Fungi Community Cookbook is written by the people who know mushroom cooking best—mushroom lovers! These are the kinds of recipes you will actually cook for dinner; tried-and-true, family recipes representing cultures from all over the world.”
Pork with Chanterelles and Apricot Jam
Recipe by Kevin Bone
Yields 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
1½ pounds pork tenderloin or pork spareribs
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
6 ounces fresh chanterelles, whole buttons or large mushrooms cut in half pole to pole
⅓ cup dry white wine
⅓ cup apricot jam
⅔ cup chicken stock
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Rub the pork with garlic cloves and salt and pepper to taste. Let the meat rest while you cook the mushrooms.
Heat butter in a medium pan over medium-high heat. When the butter is foamy, less than 1 minute, add the mushrooms and cook until they release their water and the water evaporates, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the wine and continue cooking until it is mostly evaporated, a few minutes. There should be a couple of tablespoons of liquid in the bottom of the pan.
Place the pork in a roasting pan and roast in the oven until golden, about 20 minutes. If using ribs, you will need to cook them longer, about 25 to 30 minutes.
In a small saucepan, add the apricot jam and chicken stock, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a gentle boil over a medium heat until the jam dissolves and the sauce is viscous and slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Add the sauce to the mushrooms.
Remove the pork from the oven and pour the mushroom sauce over it, then return to the oven and cook for another 10 minutes, until a thermometer inserted in the meat reads 145°F. Baste the pork with the sauce a few times to keep it moist.
Remove the pork and let it rest for a few minutes, then place on a board and slice. Place slices on a platter and cover with the chanterelle sauce.
NOTES FROM ANNA & LEE
It took our tenderloin about an hour to cook. This is likely because we do not have access to a full-size oven and used a dual oven/microwave appliance instead. In any case, using a meat thermometer, be sure the pork has reached at least 145° before removing it from the oven.
We chose Lee’s fabulous garlic, caramelized onion and diced broccoli mashed potatoes for the side. It proved to be a great pairing!
Anna’s Review: 4.5/5
I’m normally not very into “fruit + meat” combinations, nor am I the biggest fan of pork... but this recipe completely sold me on both! The salty tender pork is complimented well by the warm tang of the apricot glaze... and when each bite is topped with a dollop of Lee's rich, flavorful mashed potatoes? Seriously--it's heaven for the mouth! In character for me, I didn’t fancy the chanterelles... the crunch was off-putting and the flavor wasn't especially pleasant--but that is absolutely no surprise. I feel like this could just be a classic case of an honest: "It's not you, it's me!" moment! Those who know me know that, aside from candy cap ice cream, I've yet to consume a mushroom I did like! Overall, this is a recipe I could go back to again. It was the perfect end to a chilly October evening.
Lee’s Review: 4/5
The tenderloin in this dish is heavenly. It's perfect. Texture and taste are both top notch, and it pairs well with the other flavors present in this dish. Pork loves a sweet flavor and the apricot was a good choice. An even better choice was the manner in which theapricot sauce was cooked. I am used to apricot flavor that is overbearing; this was pleasantly muted and not so vibrant that it washed out other tastes. It worked very well with mashed potatoes, which allowed that flavor to carry on in the same pleasant, muted fashion to the rest of the dish.
I don't think I am a fan of the chanterelles in this dish, but am unsure. Our cooking situation meant the mushrooms were baked for 30 mins longer than the 10 mins the recipe quotes. I am unsure how much this effected the chanterelles' texture. Flavor-wise, they take on the flavor of the sauce and the apricots, which works well. However, the texture became loose and fibrous like undercooked calamari. This was hard to hide due to the prescribed way of cutting and processing the chanterelle mushrooms. The pieces are too large to hide in a bite of mashed potatoes and pork. I'm unsure if these chanterelles are supposed to be this texture, or if my kitchen restrictions created that reality. In any case, it was a splendid meal. I think that I can change my technique enough to produce better results in the future.
The "Fantastic Fungi Community Cookbook" can be found on my Amazon Storefront, here: www.amazon.com/shop/influencer-09a3858c