Mushrooms as...Dessert?

The first memory I have of mushrooms is not exactly food-related. Well, it's zero food-related. I was first introduced to them by my close friend Hanna-Barbera, as the place that The Smurfs called home. In Brazil, mushrooms were not a staple in every mother's kitchen and good and fresh mushrooms were expensive and hard to find. Luckily for me, that all changed when I moved to Ireland, where I was able to try loads of different types and open my mind and heart to them. Since I arrived, I 've enjoyed mushrooms as my starter and I've had them as as my main with every possible combination ever. In all these years, however, I've never had them as the best part of any meal served in any part of the explored universe: dessert. The very idea of having mushrooms as part of any kind of dessert was unthinkable. I wouldn't dare.

That was until I came across something called chanterelles. I saw (on my laptop screen) those beautiful, yellow, weird looking mushrooms and I felt a tingle in my mouth. Something I hadn't felt since I tried peanut butter for the first time. It was love at first sight. On my research about chanterelles (officially now my favourite mushroom name) I discovered they were in season in November and they could easily be found in Ireland and that they are often used to make, believe it or not..ice cream. It was too good to be true. I had to try it.


And so I went on a quest to find these babies. I visited every single Asian market my legs could bring me to and I couldn't find them. I went to specialty shops and they we not there. I tried Marks & Spencer and nothing. I was about to give up when it came to me. It was obvious. I went back to the place Emma, Philippa and I first met: Fallon & Byrne. And there they were and in all of their glory. I brought them home and adapted a recipe I found online for Chanterelle Sorbet.




Here's the step by step:

1) Arrange them in a paper bag and take a picture to put on your wall and show your kids one day. 

2) Wash and chop them roughly

3) Blend them with the simple syrup (recipe below), lime juice, vanilla extract and the peanut butter for 1-2 min, until smooth.

4) Pour the mixture in the ice cream maker (or the freezer if you are a normal person) and wait until it becomes ice cream.

5) Grab a spoon and experience what raw mushrooms and sugar taste like when they are blended together and frozen: INCREDIBAMAZING!
The final product tastes sweet and nutty and has a lovely texture. I would definitely recommend trying it at home. If not for all the reasons above, for the weirdness of it.Complete list of ingredients:2 Cups of Water / 1 Cup of Sugar / 1/2 Cup of Chanterelle Mushrooms / Juice of Half a Lime /  1 Tablespoon of Peanut Butter / 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract / Patience Simple Syrup:- Add water and sugar to a pan and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for 5 minutes. Let it cool before blending with mushrooms.
I shall now pass the blogging batton to my beautiful Emma in Nice, who I'm sure will blow your minds with whatever she comes up with. Go, Emma!