Photo by Eugenia Bone
Provenance of Dish
Once a year or so my friend, the great gluten-free baker Charles Luce takes me to his black trumpet (Craterellus cornucopioides) spot for a day of hunting, socializing, and swatting mosquitoes.
I prepare our cache many ways, as does Charles--he is famous among NYMS members for his black trumpet butter--but always, I put up a pint or so of marinated trumpets, as one of my favorite sandwiches is tuna and marinated black trumpet salad. But lately I’ve been making stuffed eggs with minced trumpets. The flavor is distinctive and delightful, and brings a hunter’s forest aesthetic to this country club staple. (You can find out about Charles’ bread at https://www.luces9grains.com.)
First make the marinated trumpets. This recipe makes 3 half-pints. They will hold in the fried for at least 10 days. The eggs hold in the fridge for about 4 days, covered in plastic wrap. They are delicious cold.
Recipe
Ingredients
3/4 pound black trumpets, washed
3/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons cup lemon juice
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 2-inch sprig fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
6 or so peppercorns
1 2-inch piece lemon zest teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon minced garlic
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large organic eggs
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons marinated black trumpets, drained of the marinade and minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Paprika for garnish
Instructions
To make the marinated black trumpets, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the trumpets and boil until fork tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse.
Place the trumpets in a large bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, peppercorns, (count them—you will have to fish them out later), lemon zest, garlic, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours.
Have ready 3 sterilized pint jars, bands, and lids. To sterilize the jars, bands, and lids, boil them in water for 10 minutes at sea level, adding one minute for every 1000 feet above sea level. You do not need to use new lids because you will not process these jars. Spoon the mushrooms into the jars. Wipe the rims, place on the lids, and screw on the bands.
Fish out the bay leaf and peppercorns before serving.
To make the stuffed eggs, place the eggs in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil then turn off the heat. Allow the eggs to rest for 12 minutes in the water.
Remove the eggs and let them come down in temperature.
Peel the eggs and cut in half from pole to pole. Gently pop out the yolk into a small bowl. Place the whites on a small platter. Add the sour cream, black trumpets, salt and pepper to taste to the egg yolks and mash with a fork, mixing until almost smooth (if you whip the egg yolks too much the stuffing will get runny).
With a teaspoon, mound each egg white with the egg yolk stuffing. Garnish with paprika.
