Chef Elsa
Dillfisolen
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Culinary Explorer
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Schwammerl in Rahm (Creamed Wild Mushrooms)
Created by
Golden wild Eierschwammerl sautéed in butter and finished in cream with a whisper of marjoram and nutmeg. Late summer in the Austrian Alps, in a pan.
Side Dishes
Austrian
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
20 min
Active Time
20 min cook•40 min total
Yield4 servings
Every August, the Eierschwammerl arrive at the Grünmarkt in Salzburg in small wooden crates lined with newspaper, and the whole market smells like damp earth and apricots. That's the thing about fresh chanterelles that surprises people: they smell faintly fruity, almost floral, nothing like the earthy heaviness you'd expect from something pulled out of forest soil that morning. The vendors know which forests they came from and will tell you if you ask. I always ask.
Schwammerl in Rahm is one of the simplest and most satisfying things in Austrian cooking. You take beautiful wild mushrooms, cook them in good butter until they turn golden, hit the pan with a splash of white wine, and finish the whole thing in cream. That's it. Five ingredients doing honest work. The technique is about restraint: don't crowd the pan, don't stir too much, don't rush the cream. Let each step finish before you start the next.
In my grandmother Eva's kitchen, Gretel Beer treated wild mushrooms with a kind of reverence I didn't understand until I was older. She'd turn each one over in her hands, brush it gently, inspect it like a jeweler checking a stone. Mushrooms were precious to her because they were seasonal, fleeting, and impossible to fake. You couldn't get Eierschwammerl in January and pretend it was the same thing. You waited for them, and when they came, you cooked them simply and paid attention. That's the whole philosophy of this dish. Good ingredients, proper technique, no hiding behind complexity.
Schwammerl is the Austrian and Bavarian dialect word for mushrooms, derived from the word Schwamm, meaning sponge. Wild mushroom gathering has been a deeply rooted tradition in Austria's Alpine regions for centuries, with families guarding knowledge of their best forest spots as closely held secrets passed through generations. Eierschwammerl (chanterelles), Steinpilze (porcini), and Parasol mushrooms are the most prized varieties, and the cream-sauced preparation became a Gasthaus standard across Salzburg, Tyrol, and Styria, where the forested mountain slopes provide ideal growing conditions from late July through October.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Eierschwammerl (chanterelles)
Quantity
500g
cleaned and larger ones halved or quartered
unsalted butter
Quantity
40g
onion
Quantity
1 medium
finely diced
garlic
Quantity
1 small clove
finely minced
dry white wine
Quantity
120ml
Schlagobers (heavy cream)
Quantity
200ml
fresh flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
1 tablespoon
finely chopped
fresh marjoram leaves
Quantity
1 teaspoon
or 1/2 teaspoon dried
lemon juice
Quantity
1 tablespoon
salt and freshly ground white pepper
Quantity
to taste
nutmeg
Quantity
pinch
freshly grated
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Eierschwammerl (chanterelles)cleaned and larger ones halved or quartered | 500g |
| unsalted butter | 40g |
| onionfinely diced | 1 medium |
| garlicfinely minced | 1 small clove |
| dry white wine | 120ml |
| Schlagobers (heavy cream) | 200ml |
| fresh flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped | 1 tablespoon |
| fresh marjoram leavesor 1/2 teaspoon dried | 1 teaspoon |
| lemon juice | 1 tablespoon |
| salt and freshly ground white pepper | to taste |
| nutmegfreshly grated | pinch |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide heavy-bottomed pan or skillet (28-30cm)
- •Soft pastry brush for cleaning mushrooms
- •Wooden spoon
Instructions
- 1
Clean the mushrooms
Brush each Eierschwammerl gently with a soft brush or a damp cloth to remove dirt and pine needles. Do not wash them under running water. Chanterelles are sponges. They soak up water and then release it in the pan, which means you'll be boiling them instead of sautéing them. If they're very dirty, swish them quickly in a bowl of cold water and spread them on a clean tea towel to dry completely before you cook. Trim the very ends of the stems. Leave small ones whole. Halve or quarter anything bigger than a walnut.
Gretel always said wild mushrooms carry the forest with them and your job is to get the forest off without drowning the mushroom. A pastry brush works beautifully for this. - 2
Sauté the onion
Melt the butter in a wide, heavy pan over medium heat. When it foams and the foam begins to settle, add the diced onion. Cook gently, stirring now and then, until the onion turns soft and translucent, about four minutes. You don't want any color here. Browned onion will compete with the mushrooms, and the mushrooms should win every argument in this dish. Add the garlic in the last thirty seconds and stir it through.
- 3
Cook the mushrooms
Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the mushrooms in a single layer. This is important. If you pile them on top of each other they'll steam instead of sear, and you'll lose that gorgeous golden color. If your pan isn't big enough, do this in two batches. Let them sit untouched for two minutes. You want to hear a steady, confident sizzle, not a wet hiss. When the edges turn golden and the kitchen smells like butter and forest floor, stir them gently and cook another two to three minutes until they've softened but still have some bite.
If the mushrooms release a lot of liquid, don't panic. Let it cook off completely before you move to the next step. The liquid is flavor. Let the pan reclaim it. - 4
Deglaze with wine
Pour in the white wine. It will bubble up immediately. Let it reduce by about two-thirds, scraping any golden bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Those bits are concentrated flavor. The wine needs two to three minutes to cook down. You'll know it's ready when the liquid looks syrupy rather than watery and the raw alcohol smell has gone.
- 5
Finish with cream
Reduce the heat to medium-low. Pour in the Schlagobers and stir it through. Let the sauce simmer gently for four to five minutes until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. The cream should cling to the mushrooms, not pool at the bottom of the pan. Add the marjoram and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg. Season with salt, white pepper, and the lemon juice. The lemon won't make it taste citrusy. It lifts everything and keeps the cream from feeling heavy. Taste it. Adjust. Trust yourself.
White pepper, not black. Black pepper leaves visible specks in the cream sauce and has a sharper bite. White pepper does its work quietly, which is what you want here. - 6
Serve immediately
Scatter the fresh parsley over the top and bring the pan straight to the table. Schwammerl in Rahm is best served from the pan it was cooked in, spooned generously alongside Semmelknödel, Serviettenknödel, or even just a thick slice of good Bauernbrot to soak up the sauce. This is not a dish that improves with waiting. The cream tightens, the mushrooms soften further, the whole thing loses its nerve. Serve it proud and hot. Mahlzeit!
Chef Tips
- •Buy your Eierschwammerl from someone who can tell you when they were picked. Freshness is everything. They should be firm, dry to the touch, and smell like the forest, not like the inside of a plastic bag. If they're slimy or smell sour, walk away.
- •If you can't find fresh chanterelles, a mix of other fresh wild mushrooms works beautifully. Steinpilze (porcini), oyster mushrooms, or even good cremini will give you something worth eating. What won't work is dried chanterelles rehydrated. The texture goes rubbery and the sauce turns muddy. Use dried porcini if fresh wild mushrooms aren't available; they're more honest about what they become after soaking.
- •Serve this alongside Semmelknödel and you have one of the great Austrian meals. The Knödel soak up the cream sauce the way bread soaks up a good story: completely, and with no intention of letting any of it go to waste.
- •This dish is seasonal. Late July through October is Schwammerl season in Austria. If you're making it in February with imported mushrooms, it will be good. But it won't be the same. Austrian cooking is seasonal, and that's part of what makes it honest.
Advance Preparation
- •The mushrooms can be cleaned and trimmed up to four hours ahead. Spread them on a tray lined with a clean tea towel and refrigerate uncovered.
- •Schwammerl in Rahm does not reheat well. The cream breaks and the mushrooms lose their texture. Make it fresh and serve it immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 170g)
Calories
320 calories
Total Fat
27 g
Saturated Fat
16 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
9 g
Cholesterol
90 mg
Sodium
310 mg
Total Carbohydrates
15 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
4 g
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