Pickled Wood Hedgehog Mushrooms

Wood Hedgehog Mushrooms are one of our favourites. They appear in large rings in the woods near our house and we eagerly head in late Autumn to gather them for the kitchen. One of our favourite recipes for these mushrooms is an Italian-inspired savoury olive oil pickle, which is perfect for serving with crusty bread on cold winter nights. Although we like to use Wood Hedgehogs, this recipe works for almost any mushroom, including Chanterelles, Ceps, Hen of the Woods or Winter Chanterelles.

Ingredients

Prep Time: 15-30 Minutes

Cooking Time: 10 Minutes

Quantity: Makes 1 x 500 ml clip-top Jar of Pickles

• 750g of fresh Wood Hedgehog Mushrooms
• 2 Garlic Cloves, sliced
• 5 Sprigs of Mugwort
• Pinch of Black Peppercorns
• Good Quality Olive Oil

For Pickling Brine:

• 400 ml White Wine or Cider Vinegar
• 400 ml Water
• 1 Garlic Clove, halved.
• 1 tsp of Black Peppercorns
• 1 tsp Rock Salt
• 1 tsp of Whole Mustard Seeds
• 2 Bay Leaves

Method

1. Clean your wood hedgehog mushrooms and remove the stalk bases.
2. Optional: remove the spines from the underside of the caps under running water using a teaspoon or your thumb (this isn't essential, but the spines get absolutely everywhere and will make a bit of a mess of your lovely jar of pickles!).
3. Make a pickling brine by adding the Vinegar, Water, Garlic, Peppercorns, Salt, Mustard Seeds and Bay Leaves to a large pan and heating gently until simmering.
4. Once a simmer is reached, add the mushrooms and cook in the brine for 10 minutes. When cooked, remove the mushrooms from the brine using a soup strainer and place on a baking tray lined with a teatowel to dry. If there's not enough room in your pan to cook all the mushrooms at once, cook them a handful at a time until all of the mushrooms are cooked.
5. Fill a sterilised jar with the cooked mushrooms, layering them in the jar with the sliced Garlic Cloves, Black Peppercorns and mugwort sprigs to ensure an even distribution. Leave about 2-3 inches of space at the top of the jar.
6. Once filled to the desired level, pour a good quality olive oil into jar until the contents are completely submerged in the oil.
7. Seal the jar and leave in a cool place for at least 7 days before eating. The unopened pickles can be stored for up to six months. Once opened, keep in the fridge and eat within 7 days.