Hedgehog Mushrooms

A near perfect 'Fairy' of Hedgehog mushrooms

Hedgehog mushrooms, Hydnum repandum, Pied de mouton, or 'Juanyan chijun' in Pin-yin though don't ask me to repeat that one, I'll stick to the hedgehog tag.These are a great find as there is little to confuse them with in the woods.Though I did think my eyes were deceiving me as I spied a ring of them in the woods, as to me that's fairly uncommon, it's more normal for me to find them in little trooping patches.

They are great to eat, especially for slower cooking methods as they are fairly robust in the pan, when cooking them quickly slice them thinly.

Identifying. Hedgehog Mushrooms, Hydnum repandum.

Cap. Creamy white when young creamy yellow with age.

Stems. Short, stout

Gills/ Spines replace the gills on this one they are short creamy white when young, off white with age.
Taste/smell pleasant, slight hint of pepper and a little bitter with age.

Habitat. Beech pines, late summer to early winter.

Some quite large Hedgehogs.

Hedgehog Lasagne

Inspired by @mckennasguides  http://kitchenlifeskills.blogspot.ie/
In many ways I guess cooking's a bit like music, you can play by notes or play by ear, this one I'm playing by ear, Sally and John are lucky enough to have their patch of Hedgehogs and make a lasagne with them I haven't ate it or got their recipe,  but now that I've the luxury of having a good few 'Hedgehogs' about me that's what I'm going to do. It makes sense really; the texture of Hedgehog mushrooms allows them to be chopped in a mince like fashion and they hold their texture through cooking, the logic kicks in. Hopefully mine's as good as theirs,if you have your own family recipe just replace the meat with 'Hedgehogs'.

Typical lasagne recipe, using Mushrooms instead of meat.
 The ingredients.
227gms/1/2lb Hedgehog Mushroms, finely chopped just like mince (scrunching them up in your hand works fine too!)
1 small onion- this you'll have to dice finely
2 cloves garlic crushed
good pinch dried oregano
a good dash of Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
1 400gm/120z tin canned chopped tomatoes 
 400ml water (just use the can to measure)
olive oil for frying
8 0r 9 lasagne sheets
500ml or pint of your favourite white sauce/bechamel ( ratio 50gms butter/50gmsflour/500ml milk)
50gm/20z grated parmesan or mature Dubliner cheddar cheese, it's got that parmesan reggiano kick about it.

Method
Fry the onions and garlic lightly in a saucepan with a little olive oil when soft add your the contents of the tin/can of tomatoes add your Oregano, Worcestershire sauce, a teaspoon of salt and a pinch of pepper, bring to the boil then add the water to the contents of your saucepan bring it to the boil again reduce the heat and simmer to reduce the sauce to its original volume.
Fry the chopped/scrunched Hedgehog mushrooms in a large pan  for a couple of minutes with a little olive oil, seasoning  lightly with a little salt and pepper, either add to the saucepan of tomato sauce or vice versa depending on which will hold the volume, them cook for a further 8-10 mins on a low heat, checking the seasoning.
To layer up the lasagne ladle a 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of your dish, lay some sheets of lasagne on,repeat process topping off with a layer of lasagne sheets,pour the sauce on top.
 Bake in a moderate oven approximately 45 mins add the cheese return  to the oven for a further 10 mins until you get a satisfying golden crust on top.