Meat

Meat and mushrooms are the perfect partners. Mushroom sauces provide succulent accompaniments to plain grilled meat, and mushrooms are an essential ingredient of meat casseroles and stews. Game is available at the same time as most wild fungi, and they both seem to complement each other so dramatically in flavour. When testing ideas for this book, I came across many new combinations, some using offal, a lot of which are traditional in many diverse parts of the world, not just in Italy. Game, red meat and offal are strong in taste, but this can be matched by the aromatic qualities of even the most pungent of mushrooms. More delicate meats such as veal or chicken also have their fungal counterparts in the subtlety of mushrooms like chanterelles and parasols. There are about 40 edible mushrooms described in this book, of which three-quarters are wild and a quarter cultivated. Whatever meat you like, you will certainly find one that goes with this selection of fungi. Good luck!