Tagliatelli with Wood blewit mushrooms and chicken

Another glorious find on the streets of Leeds this weekend was a bag of Wood Blewits from the lovely people from Autumn Harvest Mushrooms.  They had a small stall at the Briggate Farmers Market at the weekend.  As soon as I noticed them I homed in.  They always have a really good variety of fungus on offer from pink oyster mushrooms to ready to go dried risotto packs.

I first heard about Wood Blewits on an episode of River Cottage.  Hugh was waxing lyrical with his mushroom man John Wright about the joy of this hard to find shroom and eventually set fire to his mushroom guide (he was using it as a wind break for his camping stove).  Things like these stand out in my mind, so when we were faced with them in Leeds we had to buy them.

Wood Blewits are not cheap, but they are very tasty.  Tonight's menu is being kept simple so that they're the star of the show.  Simply pan fried with butter and a bit of garlic and tossed with fried chicken.  The sauce is finished with a spoon of crème fraiche.