Since this is our last post on Diggin’ Food – and what a pleasure it has been! – we can’t resist anticipating the next season a bit to talk about one of our favorite local foods of Fall. Fall means one thing to me more than just about anything else – mushroom foraging season! When September arrives here in the Northwest it’s time to head out and start scouring the mountains and forests for the most delicious of all mushrooms – the porcini.

Also known as the ‘king bolete’ and cep in French, porcini is what the Italians call the Boletus edulis mushroom. It’s what I call it too because it’s the Italian styles of preparation that I use most in my cooking. Nothing compares to the flavor that porcinis add to soups and sauces or as toppings for bruschetta or filling for pasta; or just sautéed in butter and olive oil and eaten by all by themselves.

Foraging for mushrooms is like going on a treasure hunt in the forest*. There must still be a hunter/gatherer part of my brain that kicks in when it needs to. At first when I arrive in the mushroom woods I don’t see anything. Then a little stump or cap catches my eye and I look around to see that there are dozens more all around that I hadn’t seen moments before. Few thrills equal that of discovering a patch of porcinis growing in the forest!

You don’t need to go foraging yourself to taste these delicious mushrooms. Porcinis can be found dried in many stores and ordered online dried or frozen. Sometimes they even appear fresh at farmers markets in the fall. They are often expensive but don’t let that discourage you from trying them at least once. Since porcinis dry so well – indeed many believe that drying intensifies their flavor – I would recommend trying them in that form first.

Cooking with dried mushrooms is easy; you just have to rehydrate them. Here’s what you do. Put the desired amount of dried mushrooms in a bowl, then another bowl of the same size on top of the mushrooms to weigh them down. Next pour hot water (from the tap works fine) on the mushrooms until they are covered – the second bowl is to keep them submerged. Let sit for about 20 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft and feel more or less like fresh mushrooms. Remove them from the water and treat them just like they were fresh. Don’t throw away that liquid though! It’s now a flavorful mushroom broth and can be added to whatever you’re cooking to deliver more mushroom flavor. I pour it through a coffee filter first to remove any grit.

Porcini Crostini

Simple and delicious, this recipe delivers pure porcini flavor and is super easy to make.

Take about 2 cups of coarsely chopped porcinis (fresh or rehydrated) and toss them in a hot pan with a little olive oil and a little chopped oregano. Add a pinch of salt and cook until the mushrooms give up their liquid and just start to turn golden brown along the edges. Remove from heat.

While the porcinis are cooking, slice a baguette into rounds, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and place on a cookie sheet into a 375º F oven for about 7 minutes or until just crispy.

Spoon little mounds of the porcini mixture onto the toasts, perhaps sprinkle a garnish of fresh chopped herbs on top, arrange on a platter and serve.

Porcini Stuffed Ravioli

This recipe is a bit involved but it’s worth the effort and gets easier every time you make it. The ravioli freeze well so I usually make a big batch; freeze meal sized portions in separate containers, and pull them out for dinners over a few months. If you do freeze them, be sure to first freeze them laid out on a cookie sheet so that when you combine them in containers they don’t stick together.

Ingredients

Fresh Pasta

½ lb all-purpose flour
½ lb durum semolina flour
4 eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon cold water (approximate)

Filling

1 pound / 6 cups finely chopped porcini mushrooms (fresh or dried and rehydrated)
1 ½ cup grated pecorino romano cheese
¾ cup finely chopped walnuts
2 shallots finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano finely chopped
Olive oil for sautéing
1 egg
Pinch of salt
1-2 grinds black pepper
Pinch of grated nutmeg

Making the Pasta

Put the two flours into a food processor fitted with the cutting blade and give it a pulse to mix. Combine eggs, oil, and water and with the food processor running pour into the top so that the dry and wet ingredients into a dough. Run the processor until the dough gathers into a ball – you may need to add a little more flour or a little more water depending on the mix.

Remove the dough ball from the food processor and place on a well floured surface. Divide into four equal pieces. Roll out the dough pieces into sheets using a rolling pin to about 1/16 inch thickness or use a pasta machine and roll to thickness of number 4 setting. Set sheets aside layered between floured tea towels and make the filling.

Making the Filling

Saute the shallots, oregano, and a pinch of salt in olive oil over medium heat until softened. Add chopped porcini and cook until they have given up all of their liquid and just start to brown. Remove from heat.

Combine cheese, walnuts, and porcini mixture in a bowl and then mix in egg, pepper and nutmeg.

Making the Ravioli

Put a sheet of pasta on a floured surface and lay out little teaspoonfuls of filling on the pasta sheet. Space them out so that there is about as much space between them as they are big. Next, using a pastry wheel, pizza cutter, or knife, trim the sheet around them so that there is enough of a flap to close over the filling like a book. Fold the flap over the filling and gently press around the edges to seal the pockets. Then cut the ravioli apart and along their edges to further seal them. Set aside on floured tea towels.

When you’re ready to cook, place them gently in boiling salted water. They should only take a few minutes to cook, keep an eye on them and test them to know for sure. Ravioli are fragile and should not be poured out with the cooking water through a colander. Instead, lift them out with a slotted spoon or pot insert.

Serve with grated pecorino romano or parmigiano cheese and a drizzle of good olive oil.

*A word of caution about mushroom foraging: there are some mushrooms that are deadly poisonous so if you are new to foraging go with an expert. Do not trust books as a means of identification and never eat a mushroom unless it’s been approved by an expert.