at Mon, 29 Sep 2003 10:23:23 GMT in <9t1gnvc8jvldm75flqs6hk2dtvvnisecmc@
4ax.com>, (Tigsnona) wrote :

>I am addicted to Porcini mushrooms. I can only get them dried and
>have to soak them for about 4 hours in order to render them able to be
>chopped up.
>
>I have used them, along with finely chopped semi-dried tomatoes in
>pasta - but I would really appreciate other ideas.
>
Use in stews - just add the mushrooms once the stew has some liquid
developed. Porcini will enahnce the flavour of any stew that calls for
regular mushrooms, or criminis. Same goes for soups.

A great and simple pasta sauce (if sometimes a bit tedious) : take 2 cups
whole milk. Put in a pot on medium-high heat, stirring constantly until it
starts to thicken slightly. Add the porcinis. Continue stirring and cooking
until it thickens noticeably. Pour over the pasta. You need to be a bit
careful because if you let the sauce thicken too much, it will turn into
glue over the pasta, but as long as you don't cook it down to the level
where it starts to become custardy, you should be fine.

Use in risotto - I like to make a risotto using mushroom stock as the base
liquid, with peas and porcini. Add the porcinis as you add the last
ladlefull of mushroom stock. Classic technique would call for a soffrito at
the beginning of onion and garlic, but I've found onion tends to overpower
mushrooms a bit, so I use garlic and celery instead. I don't use parmesan
at the end, and I think in a mushroom/pea risotto it would be completely
out of place anyway.

You can make the stock for your risotto using porcini as well (this is a
pretty extravagant use of the mushrooms) - you'll need at least 3 packets
of dry mushrooms for 4 cups of mushroom stock. I'd save this kind of stock
for special occasions: my regular stock is crimini mushroom stock. You
simply simmer the mushrooms in the water for several hours, then discard
the mushrooms, whatever the type.

Also, use porcinis with barley - a great dish is barley cooked in mushroom
stock with porcini and lamb. Proportions should be similar to a risotto -
i.e. the porcini and lamb should be like condiments, not half the weight of
the dish. You can substitute lentils for the lamb as well, and this makes
for a very hearty dish in winter. The "deluxe" version uses all 3 items.
This whole dish idea is a great time and effort saver, because it requires
almost no attention on your part (put barley in pot with stock, leave on a
low setting for a while, dump the other ingredients in 1/2 hour before
serving), and because you can re-use leftovers for day after day. Simply
put the pot in the fridge, and reheat over the stove whenever you want a
zero-effort meal. Of course, you can experiment with other additions as
well

Mixed with chicken or turkey (especially if mixed with the above plus
chicken or turkey gravy), they make a delicious crepe filling.

These are just some possibilities. In general, the idea is that you can use
them whenever you want to add a rich flavour and sense of luxury to any
sort of hearty, stew-like composite dish.

--
Alex Rast

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