KPMS Mushroom of the Month for march 2009
| Botanical: |
Photo © Michael Wood,
courtesy of MykoWeb
Boletus mirabilis |
| Common: |
Admiral Bolete |
| Description: |
Cap 5-15cm across, convex to flattened, margin inrolled; vinaceous, dark to reddish violet brown when young, fading to brown to dark brown; moist to soon dry, woolly or even squamulose. Pores yellow-white to olive-yellow; depressed around stem; not staining or staining slightly darker yellow when bruised. Stem 80-150 x 35-50mm; bulbous to club shaped; dry; dark to reddish brown with darker striations. Flesh firm; white, yellow with greyish red streaks in stem. Odor and taste pleasant. Spore print olive-brown. |
| Habitat: |
On or near logs or woody debris of fir, hemlock, or western red cedar, Sept - Dec. |
| Primary keys: |
bolete round pores; red/brown velvety cap; yellow pores not staining blue; dark reddish-brown stem with streaks; grows on wood |
| Edibility: |
Good - it has a slight lemony note under a mild bolete flavor. |
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| Notes: |
This distictive and common bolete is easy to identify. B. chrysenteron has a lighter cracked cap while B. zelleri has a more red cap. Both have more yellow in the stem with fewer if any striations, the pores typically stain blue, sometimes slowly, and they are terrestrial not wood-lovers. All are frequently attacked by the white-to-yellow cottony Hypomyces chrysospermus, a cousin to the Lobster Mushroom. B. mirabilis - like other boletes - is an excellent mushroom for drying. And like other boletes, beware of worms! |
Recipe: Prawn & Mushroom Linguine
2 oz. dried Boletus mirabilis, soaked in warm water & squeezed dry
1 lb. shelled & deveined prawns
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
zest & juice of one medium lemon
4 T. extra-virgin olive oil
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1 t. fresh thyme
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
2 T. minced Italian parsley
12 oz. package linguine
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Cook the linguine in plenty of well salted boilling water. Pre-heat a large saute pan over medium high heat. Saute the garlic for 30 seconds in 2T. olive oil. Add the prawns and cook for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, lemon zest & juice, thyme, salt & pepper and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the cooked linguine, parsley and remaining olive oil. Toss over heat for 30 seconds and serve.
Gustare!
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