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The real magic of mushrooms is that they are rare, wild and only appear briefly after perfect conditions. If the scented and mysterious truffle, hunted by humans, pigs and dogs alike is the king, the porcini is the crown prince. It is a beautifully shaped mushroom with a large cap and sturdy stalk and can be found in the autumn time all around the world. It is also the most highly flavoured of all mushrooms.
Porcini, translated as little pigs, are prized in Italy where the consumption is higher than anywhere else in the world. They are equally adored in France where they are known as cepes, particularly those from my beloved Provence and the South West. A lesser well-known fact however is that they also come from further afield, countries such as China, Serbia and Croatia. I don't know how impassioned they are in these countries, but in Italy and France it's not just eating porcini that is adored but the hunt itself.
The knowledge of areas where porcini mushrooms can be found is not shared, often even kept by one family member from another. The locations of these spots, ideal after a combination of rain and sunshine at the right time of year are handed down only to the nearest and dearest. It is quite a common sight in the autumn to come across cars parked all over the sides of the road while the passengers make quick, secretive exits hiding behind their baskets, in search of porcini mushrooms. If you want to try your luck and don't have a local number plate, watch out, you could be labelled a poacher!
We are lucky at Le Baou d'Infer. We have the incomparable Sylvain who is a real man of his region and has been hunting mushrooms since he could walk. How he found these areas I have no idea. If we find nothing in one, it is often a half hour drive to the next. But boy does he find them. Last year in late September he managed 40 kilos in just two days.
During their season I eat porcini mushrooms with almost every meal. In omelettes, where the porcini are first fried with garlic and parsley before being bundled inside fluffy, free range eggs. Big porcini mushrooms are thickly sliced, doused with olive oil and grilled over a fire of vine trimmings from the recent harvest or sautéed with chestnuts to serve with rich game dishes. What a glorious time it is.
But the season is too short. Those of us who love mushrooms want to enjoy them for longer. They can be frozen, which works OK, but the most traditional and somehow most natural method, is to dry them. There are many ways of doing this, in the oven, or direct sunlight, but the best way is in a gentle shade. This way the flavour of the mushroom concentrates slowly into meaty morsels which keep you going until the next season.
Dried porcini mushrooms become a different type of luxury product to the fresh. The idea is not to use them in place of the fresh but in tandem with the cultivated mushrooms to give them a stronger flavour. The taste of the mushrooms is so intense it is almost meaty. The soaking liquid that you retain once you rehydrate the mushrooms is a prize ingredient in its own right. Use it to flavour pasta sauces, risotto and stocks, intense full flavoured broths and lovely creamy smooth soups. In season I cook a packet of dried porcini with parsnips and chestnuts and puree the soup with cream which results in a soup with a heavenly texture and the richest taste.
As we are now out of winter and well into spring, it is a time to enjoy porcini mushrooms in a different way. Almost as a seasoning. Try soaking them, then slicing and sautéing before mixing with roasted peppers, olive oil and thyme for a dressing for lamb. Toss them with cooked artichokes and SunBlush® Tomatoes to create a powerful salad or finely dice and mix with garlic butter before stuffing underneath the skin of a chicken.
I've given you a recipe here for a simple porcini frittata with peas and asparagus. The mushrooms provide the depth of flavour and the vegetables the freshness. You could try the frittata with watercress and snow peas, SunBlush® Tomatoes and peppers, or the remainder of yesterday's ratatouille.
The magic of mushrooms should be enjoyed all year round and the prized porcini, crown prince of them all, is an ingredient you should never be without.
