Chiodini mushrooms belong to the Marasmiaceae family, the scientific name is Armillaria mellea.
Raw honey mushrooms are toxic, while once cooked they become edible; in fact, they contain a toxin that is inactivated by cooking at 65-70 °.
Chiodino is a generic term with which other types of mushrooms are often indicated. Mushrooms of the following species are also commonly defined as nails:
> Armillaria tabescens, another edible mushroom when cooked and toxic when raw;
> Armillaria gallica, edible mushroom when cooked and even poisonous when raw.
Fungi of the Agrocybe aegerita species are sometimes defined as nails, which actually belong to the family of mushrooms commonly known as pioppini. Pioppino or piopparello is an edible mushroom even raw.
Be careful, however, why there are many mushrooms, even deadly ones, which closely resemble nails, therefore, when it comes to mushrooms, the advice is always the same: never rely on your harvest if you are not an expert nor to that of other people whose experience is not known with absolute certainty.
Read also How to cook mushrooms >>
Properties and nutritional values ​​of honey mushrooms
The nails are very low-calorie foods; 100 grams of tacks contain about 15 calories.
The proteins of these mushrooms (about 2 grams per 100 grams of product) have little value. Lipids are present in minimal quantities, less than 1 gram per 100 grams of product, and are mostly polyunsaturated, that is, good fats.
The nails they are very rich in water and dietary fiber and they provide very little sodium.
As for the mineral intake, it is above all the potassium and phosphorus content is relevant. The iron content is also decent.
The intake of vitamins is not particularly noteworthy, except for the niacin or vitamin PP, contained in good quantities.
How are the nails cooked?
The nails should be pre-cooked before adding them to any recipe. It is always necessary to boil them for at least 10 minutes and then throw away the cooking water. Once this procedure has been carried out, they lose the toxin and can be used for the preparation of risottos, pasta-based first courses, seasoning for bruschetta, side dishes, etc.
Let's see two recipes with Chiodini mushrooms: risotto with Chiodini mushrooms and bruschetta with Chiodini mushrooms and stracchino.
Risotto with honey mushrooms
Ingredients for people 4
> 320 g of risotto rice;
> 300 g of honey mushrooms;
> 1 clove of garlic;
> 1 liter of vegetable broth;
> 1 glass of dry white wine;
> 30 g of extra virgin olive oil;
> 30 g of Parmesan cheese;
> parsley;
> sale;
> pepe.
Preparation
Prepare the vegetable broth. Clean the honey mushrooms, cut them into pieces of the desired size and boil for 10 minutes. Throw in the cooking water of the mushrooms. Fry a clove of garlic in extra virgin olive oil; when it is golden, remove the garlic from the pan and toast the rice, add the honey mushrooms and deglaze with the white wine. Cook adding a ladle of vegetable broth at a time; when cooked, season with salt, stir in the Parmesan and finish with chopped parsley and pepper.
Bruschetta with mushrooms and stracchino
Le bruschetta with honey mushrooms e stracchino they are a very simple dish to make and represent a perfect solution for an aperitif with friends or as an appetizer.
Ingredients for people 4
> 4 slices of Altamura type bread;
> 300 g of honey mushrooms;
> 200 g of stracchino;
> 1 clove of garlic;
> extra virgin olive oil;
> 50 ml of blonde beer;
> sale;
> pepe;
> fresh parsley.
Preparation
Clean the pegs, cut them into small pieces and boil them for at least 10 minutes. Throw away the cooking water. Brown a clove of garlic in extra virgin olive oil and add the nails, deglaze with the beer, cover, and cook over a very low heat, with the lid on; season with salt and, if necessary, add a drop of water but be careful because the mushrooms must be rather dry.
Once the nails are cooked, let them cool. Meanwhile, pour a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt on the bread and toast it in the oven.
Spread the surface of each slice with about 50 g of stracchino, add a spoonful of nails and finish with a sprinkling of pepper and chopped fresh parsley.
Read also Autumn mushrooms, how to recognize them >>
