funghi porcini

[elakin]

ok folks....

i've just returned to bologna after spending a few days in florence. and i've got a big sack of fresh porcini mushrooms that i picked up.

the markets were just about bustin' with them, and they were as low as £10,000/kilo. (this is about $5 for 2 pounds of fresh porcini (!)) yes....that was my reaction too.

by the way...florence is THE town in italy for food shopping. skip the touristy gourmet shops and head to the mercato centrale, where the florentines shop. fresh huge morels were as low as $7.50/kilo and i bought a liter of cloudy, bright green xtra virgin o.o. for 5 bucks.

so....help me out here...i'm kind of ashamed to admit i've never worked with fresh porcini before.

what's the best way to clean them? soak in water and then dry? or just wipe down with a damp towel?

then what? the guy who sold them to me told me to just simply sautee them with garlic, olive oil, salt, and a little tomato, then use them to sauce a fresh pasta. but i'd like to really feature the porcini and not use them on pasta.

is it best to start them in a dry pan and heat the water out of them first, before sauteeing? is it better to quick-cook them or go through the whole process of sauteeing, drawing out the water, cooking it away, and then sauteeing again?

any ideas or help would be appreciated.

[Mezzaluna]

Everyone should have such problems, Eddie!

Thanks for the market tip... I mean, the mercato centrale, of course. If/when we get to Italy (still dreaming for next summer, holding our breaths, crossing fingers and toes...), I'll make sure to visit. I'd also love to find local equipment stores to pick up some relatively inexpensive tools (truffle slicer and affordable truffles; a girl can dream, can't she?).

Love to read an update when you get time to write one!

[elakin]

affordable truffles!! good one.

i'll let you know how it comes out, mezz....

[Kimmie]

Hi Eddie,

If the porcini are really dirty, wash them briefly and dry them in a towel. Otherwise, just trim them and brush the dirt off.

Cooking question: Risotto ai Funghi Selvatici (Risotto with Wild Mushrooms)

Oops, I almost forgot the cooking method: film the frying pan with olive oil, when hot toss the mushrooms, season with salt and sauté 5 minutes or more to evaporate moisture and to itensify their flavor.



[ September 22, 2001: Message edited by: Kimmie ]

Hola Elakin!!!
One suggestion. You can use a good red wine to make this risotto, and if you want,make a "Duxelles"; and at the last moment pour it into the preparation with the butter and grana appadano.
Bye and good luck!!

[shroomgirl]

Hi Ed~
I like using dry and fresh use the rehydrating liquid from the dry in risotto
saute the fresh and add toward the end of cooking....
I'd quarter depending on size the fresh saute in a oiled hot pan.
My standard risot is garlic onions sauteed in generous oil...add arborio and cook for a minute, add wine ( I use dry white with most shrooms) let absorb, then stock 3x or until aldente add the sauteed shrooms, any herbs, cook some more then add cheese before serving
**Don't soak shrooms.

Hi All

I am rather new to this group I wanted to say HI and throw my two cents in regarding the delicacies of fresh porcini's. I have a recipe for oven-glazed porcici enjoy here goes

3/4 lb fresh porcini or 1 ounce dried(if using dried mushrooms, add 10 ozs. fresh crimini or shiitake)
2 large leaves arugula, finely chopped
4 small leaves radiccio, finely chopped
3 tablespoons minced onion
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
salt and pepper
2 ounces Reggiano Parmigiano
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons good quality balsamic vinegar

carefully wipe porcini clean with a damp towel and trim any tough parts of the stem. brush any dirt from the underside of cap. (If using dried, place dried porcini into a bowl of cold water and swish around to loosen any sand. Drain, then soak the porcini in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse again and coarsely chop.) Slice the fresh porcini (or the crimini) lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices.

Combine arugula, radicchio and onion in a bowl. Butter large baking dish with 1 1/2 tablespoons butter. Scatter half of the sliced mushrooms over the bottom of the dish. (mushrooms will not cover the dish bottom completely).
Sprinkle mushroom layer with onion and arugula mixture. (Add chopped dried porcini's now if using). Dot with 1 1/4 tablespoons butter and salt and pepper.
Heat broiler and set dish about 5 inches from heat. Cook 5 minutes, or until mushrooms are sizzling and browning at edges. During last minute, shave cheese over the top of mushrooms and return to broiler. Cook just until cheese is melted but not browned. Remove from oven. sprinkle mushrooms with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Serve

cooks note* white truffel oil can be used here or no oil and a little drizzel of 50 to 100 year old balsamic is heaven. If you don't have an extended aged balsamic you can make a complexity by reducing port(1/2 C) and grocery store balsamic(3/4). not the same but an interesting pleasure.

To the finest ingredients and those that know how to use them

Cheri

[Isa]

Welcome to the cafe Cheri!

[elakin]

hi everyone thanks for all the great suggestions.

the porcini were indeed quite dirty and so i ended up using quite a bit of water to clean them well. they were huge porcini (probably 5-6" diameter caps) and the tops were also really thick with quite a lot of really dense, greenish gills (the underside of the cap).

i chopped them roughly and started them in hot dry pan to sweat out the water before adding olive oil, garlic, and s&p. this is a technique (sweating the water out first) that i saw on a cooking show with gordon ramsay. i'd never heard of this before. works great!

i hate when you're trying to sautee and it just steams the mushrooms for the first 5 minutes.

anyway...i sauteed them well and then did a gratin-type topping with bread crumb, garlic, parsely, butter, grated parm... then just put it under the broiler and served it as a side. very tasty. the porcini really have a different texture than most other shrooms.

still have one enormous one left and the cap is pure white, where the others were dark brown. gonna slice and sautee and have it over fresh-cut tagliatelle and butter.

Thanks for the welcome. i watched the forums for a couple of days and this looked like great fun. Found a second recipe for those lovely morsels, porcini

Roasted Cipolline & Porcini

3/4 pound cipolline onions
2 ounces pancetta, julienned into 1 inch strips
1/2 cup beef stock or porcini soaking liquid.
1/4 cup light creme
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 pound fresh porcini mushrooms or 1/2 oz dried
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Peel onions, leaving them whole, and place in buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with pancetta and pour stock, cream and olive oil over onions. Add thyme, leaving sprigs whole. Place in oven and bake uncovered 30 minutes, turning onions once after 15 minutes. Add a little more stock if liquid gets too low.

Carefully wipe fresh porcini clean with a damp towel and trim any tough parts of stems. Brush any dirt from underside of caps. Slice mushrooms lengthwise a little less than 1/4-inch thick. (If using dried mushrooms, place them in a bowl of cold water and swish around to loosen any sand. Drain and soak porcini in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse again.)

After 30 minutes, add porcini to baking dish with onions, stirring well to coat with sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes, or until both onions and mushrooms are tender.

this side dish goes well with chicken or roast turkey

[wagamama]

Hi,and welcome to the cafe cherimoya.
This is a great place,to have fun and learn something.
Hasta la vista!!

[Kimmie]

Dear Eddie,

Your gratin-type topping sounds absolutely divine. Next time I get my hands on a porcini...

Hi All

I tried the dry skillet on some shittakes yesterday and it worked great. They squeek in the pan i did them in an enameled cast iron for about 8 minutes I quartered them and when they seemed watered out I put a big dollup of butter in there and removed it from the heat stirred and coated added Fleur de Sel and yummmm. this would be a great method for dieters as they could eliminate the fat at the end and use say Fig Vinegar.

Thanks for the tip Eddie it made a dif not to steam em

[elakin]

hi cherimoya

glad it worked for you! mine squeeked too.

i actually sauteed them for quite a bit longer after the water seemed all dried up, adding olive oil, garlic, s & p, and parsely. i like to get them nice and browned and really condense the flavors.

i think you're right, though, that people could cook them without fat this way and they'd be just as good. well...almost.

a little butter at the end still helps.

i can't believe it never occurred to me to do it this way before....the whole steaming/sauteeing thing always really annoyed me.

i keep learning new things about cooking....every day...

i always love soy sauce with mushrooms. we used to use this sweet soy sauce at one place i worked. has anyone seen this? it's very thick and syrupy and sweet. comes in a big dark brown bottle that kind of looks like a beer bottle. with a beer-bottle-style bottle cap. great stuff!

Hi Eddie

That's a thick sweet soy bean sauce found in Asian stores I use it in Pak Ke Mao. I'll go by my store this weekend and get the name.