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Treasure hunters watch out: Explore colourful autumnal forests, farmer’s markets and fruit meadows and bring back home delicious mushrooms, nuts, berries and other treasuries for mouthwatering autumn meals.
Autumn is the time of the year when forests slowly start to change their colours from tones of green to a beautiful range of yellows, reds and browns – and it’s also harvest season. Forest walks with the family are a great way to explore the outdoors, as well as fill up your pantry. From September onwards, forests and fruit meadows offer us a whole feast of fresh fruits, nuts, mushrooms and herbs – that is, if you know where to find them. Go grab your family and friends and turn your Sunday walk into an adventurous treasure hunt. Here’s what to look out for:
Mushrooms: Background Knowledge is Key.
September and october make up the main season for collecting mushrooms. But what are the best places to look for them and what do you need to watch out for? Every type of mushroom has its own preferences and conditions on where they grow: Bay boletes, for example, can be found underneath pine trees or spruces. If you want to garnish your dinner plans with some fresh chanterelles and porcini, however, you will have better luck searching in light forests with mossy grounds.
Not a mushroom expert yet? No problem. Even beginners can find and collect their own ingredients. Check for mushroom determining and harvesting workshops in your area. Or ask more experienced collectors if you can walk with them and have them show you which mushrooms to take and which ones are better left undisturbed. A mushroom book guide together with expert guidance are essential for every new mushroom collector to ensure you only pick the right ones.
Mushroom Picking Needs Preparation.
Out in the forest and off you go? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple – mushroom picking needs some preparation. Here’s what you should pack:
- Knives: To cut the stems properly, a set of small and sharp knives is helpful (make sure these are treated with caution around children).
- Basket / cotton bag: Leave the plastic bag at home. They don’t allow mushrooms to breathe, causing them to get wet and squishy quickly. In fact, they might become inedible before they even reach your kitchen. And wouldn’t that be a waste? By the way: Nuts, berries and herbs feel more comfortable in airy baskets or cotton bags, too.
- Smartphone: With the help of mapping apps, you can make sure you don’t get lost if you search aside the paths. You can also mark and remember spots with many nut trees or mushrooms to easily find back there on future searches. Some mushroom types tend to regrow in the same areas after being harvested.
Collecting mushrooms: Some tips to get the most out of your treasure hunt.
Creamy mushroom soup.
So you’ve harvested your mushrooms and now are in need of inspiration? How about a delicious creamy mushroom soup It will certainly warm you up after your treasure hunting outside. Small side note: The selection of Bosch hand blenders ensures best results for your mushroom soup. You can also get extra support, for example slicing mushrooms, from the MUM 5 kitchen machine or the Cookit , our kitchen machine with cooking function.
Recipe: Creamy mushroom soup.
Creamy mushroom soup
Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 4
Ingredients
• 100 g dried mushrooms
• 600 ml water (hot)
• 2 shallots
• 1 clove garlic
• 200 g button mushrooms
• 100 g porcini mushrooms
• 1½ tbsp butter
• 400 ml vegetable stock
• 3 egg yolks
• 200 ml heavy cream
• 20 g chives
• ½ tsp nutmeg (grated)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt
• pepper
Step 1/7
In a small, heat-resistant bowl, soak dried mushrooms in hot water for approx. 15 min. Finely chop shallots and garlic. Clean button and porcini mushrooms and cut into slices.
Step 2/7
Drain soaked mushrooms, make sure to keep the soaking liquid. In a saucepan, add two-thirds of the butter and sautée shallots and garlic until translucent. Add button mushrooms and dried mushrooms and continue sauteing for approx. 4 – 6min.
Step 3/7
Season with salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg.
Step 4/7
Pour in vegetable stock and most of the soaking liquid. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and let simmer for approx. 20 min. on low heat.
Step 5/7
Remove from heat and blend the soup with a hand blender.
Step 6/7
Whisk in heavy cream and egg yolks and season with lemon juice.
Step 7/7
Finely cut chives. In a frying pan, sauté porcini mushrooms in the remaining butter until cooked through. Add chives and season with salt and pepper. Transfer soup to a soup plate and add in porcini mushrooms. Serve with fresh bread.
It’s All About Nuts.
Unsaturated fats make nuts a healthy ingredient in your food plan. Walnuts, hazelnuts and sweet chestnuts can be found starting September. Especially sweet chestnuts taste delicious when roasted in the oven. However, make sure to only collect the ones with fine white hair and make sure to check the shell for small holes, as this can be a sign for parasites. The widely spread horse chestnut looks very similar but is inedible. However, you can still use them for beautiful autumn decorations or DIY projects with your kids. Using toothpicks and wiggly eyes from the handicraft shop turns the small brown nuts into cute little chestnut animals. For more family fun, you can even turn your nut hunt into a competition – who can collect the most nuts?
Chestnut brioche knots.
Oven roasted chestnuts are very savoury and THE taste of autumn, but there are many other ways to prepare delicious chestnut recipes. How do some sweet chestnut brioche knots sound? We’re sure you won’t get enough of these.
Recipe: Chestnut brioche knots.
Chestnut brioche knots
Difficulty: Medium | Servings: 9
Ingredients
• 200 g chestnuts
• 250 ml milk (divided)
• 150 ml water
• 42 g fresh yeast
• 100 g butter
• 800 g flour
• 1½ tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 orange
• 100 g speculaas cookies
• 350 ml condensed milk
• 1 vanilla bean
• flour for dusting
Step 1/7
Heat milk and water in a small pot set over medium-low heat. Add yeast and stir to combine. Melt butter in another small pot on medium-low heat. Add flour and salt to a large bowl and form a well in the middle.
Step 2/7
Add melted butter, milk-water mixture, eggs, and maple syrup to the bowl and knead with hand mixer with dough hooks until a smooth, soft dough. Cover with a kitchen towel and allow to rise for 2 hrs. in a warm place.
Step 3/7
In the meantime, zest orange and blend speculaas cookies in a food processor until fine. Add chestnuts, milk, condensed milk, and vanilla bean to a pot, bring to a boil and let simmer for approx. 5 min. Remove vanilla bean, add crumbled speculaas cookies and orange zest and stir to combine. Blend until smooth and creamy.
Step 4/7
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Transfer dough to a floured work surface. Knead again briefly, then divide dough into equal parts. Roll out each piece of dough until 20x10 cm/8x4-in. Size.
Step 5/7
Evenly spread 1 tbsp. of the chestnut cream onto each dough piece.
Step 6/7
Roll up the dough and make a cut down the center of it, leaving it attached at the top so that the dough is easier to knot. Then twist each strand one over the other. Form the twisted dough cord into a circle so that the ends meet on top of each other. Continue like that for all remaining pieces of dough.
Step 7/7
Place the chestnut brioche knots onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for approx. 20 min., or until crisp on the outside and golden brown. Enjoy!
Time for Fruit.
Autumn also holds a promise for those who like it sweet. Ripe and juicy apples, pears, plums and quinces – from your garden or the farmer’s market – make for delicious pies or jams. Sometimes farmers open their fruit meadows so you can even harvest the fruit yourself. Blackberries, rose hip, or sea buckthorn make colourful and aromatic add-ons for jams. How exciting for your kids to cook fruit spread from their own harvest. A great way to experience the whole process from harvesting the ingredients up to holding a ready-to-eat jar of jam in their hands.
Pumpkin gnocchi with sage butter.
This one can’t miss when it comes to autumn harvest: Bright orange pumpkins are the symbol of the season – be it spooky pumpkin faces lit by a candle or kids playing on pumpkin patches. Besides the famous Jack o’Lantern, there are many types of pumpkin and squash that ensure colourful menus. There are so many variants to prepare besides pumpkin pie and pumpkin soup. Have you ever tried Pumpkin gnocchi with sage butter? Sounds delicious, right?
Recipe: Pumpkin gnocchi with sage butter.
Pumpkin gnocchi with sage butter
Difficulty: Medium | Servings: 4
Ingredients
• 1 kg Hokkaido pumpkin
• 20 leaves sage
• 70 g walnuts
• 150 g smoked bacon (diced)
• 300 g potatoes
• 200 g potato starch
• 8 tbsp cornmeal
• 50 g Parmesan cheese (grated)
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp ricotta cheese
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 50 g butter
• salt
• pepper
• ground caraway
• ground nutmeg
• flour for dusting
Step 1/7
Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Halve Hokkaido pumpkin and remove the seeds. Cut into wedges, then dice the pumpkin and transfer it to a baking sheet. Bake for approx. 30 min., or until the pumpkin is soft, then remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Step 2/7
In the meantime, peel potatoes and add them to a pot with water. Cook until soft, then drain, and transfer them to a large bowl. Mash the potatoes until they are smooth.
Step 3/7
Add diced pumpkin to a liquid measuring cup and puree until smooth using an immersion blender. Add pumpkin puree, potato starch, cornmeal, Parmesan cheese, egg yolk, ricotta cheese, and grated garlic to the mashed potatoes. Season with salt, pepper, ground caraway and ground nutmeg. Stir well until it becomes a slightly sticky batter.
Step 4/7
Flour a clean working surface, add some dough and roll into a log. Repeat with remaining dough. Cut into bite-sized pieces and roll into small balls. To create the classic gnocchi indentations, roll each gnocchi over the tines of a fork, then transfer onto a floured baking sheet.
Step 5/7
Bring water to a boil in a large pot and add gnocchi in batches to the boiling water. Once they float, they’re ready, and can bet gently removed using a slotted spoon.
Step 6/7
In the meantime, heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and fry diced smoked bacon until crispy. Remove from the pan and set aside. Roughly chop walnuts.
Step 7/7
Heat oil in the frying pan and add butter. Add the gnocchi and fry, tossing from time to time. Add walnuts, sage leaves and fried bacon. Fry until the sage is crispy and the butter browns. Season with salt and pepper, remove from the heat, and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Autumn Dinner Decoration.
Having guests over and wanting to present a beautiful autumn-themed dinner table? Bring home some colourful leaves and use them as decoration in your home. Your kids can help you find the most beautiful ones and press the leaves between books. They will make a beautiful accessory for your dinner table. Or you can use thin yarn to tie the dried leaves to the struts of your ceiling light and build your very own natural autumn mobile.
Spending the day outside in nature with the whole family is a lot of fun – and the best thing is you can reward yourself with delicious ingredients as fresh and natural as can be.
