MainsMeze & olive-oil dishes Turkish (Black Sea / Marmara)
Saffron milk caps fried in butter
Wild saffron milk caps fried with onion in butter, the way they're cooked around Turkey's Black Sea and Marmara coasts. Ready in 35 minutes.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
Saffron milk cap
Saffron milk caps are firm, bright orange wild mushrooms that appear in pine forests after the autumn rains. In Turkey they're called kanlıca (or çıntar on the Black Sea coast), and the classic way to cook them is kanlıca kavurma: fried in butter with onion and served with bread. When you cut them they ooze an orange milk, and bruised spots slowly turn greenish; both are perfectly normal and don't mean the mushrooms have spoiled.
As with any wild mushroom, only use saffron milk caps bought from a trusted seller or identified by an expert, and never cook mushrooms you've picked yourself unless you're certain of the species.
Ingredients
Tick them off as you go.
For the sauté
To serve
Method
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-
Brush off any soil and pine needles with a soft brush; if they're very dirty, swish them quickly in cold water and pat dry straight away. Trim the base of the stalks and discard any stalks that are hollow or wormy. Don't worry when the cut surfaces ooze bright orange milk or later develop greenish stains: that is completely normal for this mushroom.
~10 min -
Leave small caps whole and cut larger ones into 4–6 wedges.
~3 min -
Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the mushrooms with no fat. They'll release plenty of liquid; cook uncovered, stirring now and then, for 8–10 minutes until it has completely evaporated.
~10 min -
Add the butter, olive oil and onion. Fry over a medium heat for 6–7 minutes until the onion is soft and the mushrooms are browned at the edges. They should keep their orange colour and look glossy, with slightly crisp edges.
~7 min -
Stir in the garlic, salt, chilli flakes and black pepper and cook for 1–2 minutes more, without letting the garlic burn.
~2 min -
Take off the heat, scatter with parsley and serve hot with rustic bread or cornbread.
~1 min
Enjoy!
The mushroom in this recipe
Mushroom swaps
Chanterelle Cantharellus cibariusThe closest match in colour and fruity aroma; cook it exactly the same way.
Oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatusEasy to find; it releases less water, so shorten the cooking by 3–4 minutes.
Porcini / cep Boletus edulisSlice thickly; it makes a meatier, nuttier dish.
Tips
- Driving off their water in a dry pan first is the secret to crisp-edged mushrooms that don't turn rubbery.
- Don't wash them more than you have to; they soak up water like a sponge and will steam instead of fry.
- Only use mushrooms from a trusted seller or identified by an expert; if in any doubt, don't cook them.
Storage
Fresh saffron milk caps don't keep well: cook them the day you buy them, or the next day at the latest, storing them in a paper bag in the fridge. The cooked dish keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 days; reheat thoroughly in a pan.
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Kitchen guides
Before you cook: clean, store, dry
How to clean mushroomsPractical ways to clean everything from button mushrooms to morels without waterlogging them or ruining their texture.
How to store mushroomsHow to keep fresh, cooked, frozen and dried mushrooms at their best — and how to tell when they’ve gone bad.
How to dry mushroomsA step-by-step guide to drying mushrooms at home in the oven, in a dehydrator or on a string — and how to store and rehydrate them.