In autumn our local forests yield slippery jacks (Boletus luteus), and saffron milkcaps (Lactarius deliciosa) otherwise referred to as pine mushrooms. Nearby paddocks offer field mushrooms. Fresh morels are not in season with autumn mushrooms but in spring they are found in the sandier and more gravely soils of local bushland. In good years we string up morels to dry and have them on hand throughout the year. A few of any kind of dried mushroom will add a depth of flavour to a mushroom ragout. Unless you are a skilled gatherer it is inadvisable to go gathering.
-Alla Wolf-Tasker
Quinces, figs, pumpkins, early chestnuts, wild forest mushrooms. Fertile local volcanic plains ensure a continuing harvest of many varieties of potato. Crisply roasted with a nice piece of duck by some talented local hands and paired with a sublime Curly Flat Pinot. Ah…this is the life!
It’s not too late to enjoy a simple autumn picnic by Lake Daylesford or Trentham Falls. Piper Street Food Company’s award-winning Duck Rillettes are the perfect picnic fare, spread lavishly on Red Beard Bakery’s organic sourdough and washed down with a glass or two of Curly Flat’s bone-dry, fragrant and ripe Rosé.
Click here for Alla Wolf-Tasker’s Ragout of Wild Mushrooms recipe.