I have a couple different ways I’ve shared to enjoy the freshest, most perfect porcini buttons I’ve found. This is one of the more simple ways you might enjoy them, but sometimes less is more. Raw porcini served with parmesan and fresh greens (typically arugula) is a classic Italian salad, and one everyone should try…
Porcini or King Bolete
Porcini from Minnesota. Image by Jesse Roesler.
Porcini (also sometimes called king boletes) is a blanket name applied to a number of different, but similar bolete mushrooms. They're prized around the world for their rich flavor, and are highly sought after by chefs.
If you're new to porcini, check out my basic into to porcini. If you have some you'd like to cook, first, give yourself a pat on the back for finding them, then make my fresh porcini butter. If you're in the Midwest and have pine forests near you, make sure to keep an eye open for Boletus subcaerulescens.
Angelos Dried Wild Mushroom Ragu
A simple ragu of wild mushrooms was one of the recipes on the saute station back in the day when I was working at the now-closed Trattoria Da Vinci under Chef Angelo Volpicelli. Angelo was super talented, barely spoke English, and had owned his own restaurant in Rome for 12 years. Twelve years is a…
Mushroom Fricasee Fredy Girardet
Old cookbooks are a wealth of knowledge. Back in the day, it didn’t matter how many art directors were on set for the photo shoot, and how many different plate props you had, good food was just good food. One of my favorite old books is Fredy Girardet, a famous Swiss chef who reached the…
Toasted Porcini Aioli
During the Winter after a really good year for boletes (likely the legendary Pallidoroseus haul of 2013) I started making all kinds of things with my dried shrooms. Cooking with European porcini is easy: just throw them in anything and the flavor will take over. The porcini I pick in Minnesota (Boletus atkinsonii, or whatever…
Pigeon Pie
I talked to a hunter last year and told him I was excited to harvest pigeons. He laughed, looked at me like I was idiot, and told me he shoots them and throws them in the woods as they’re not worth eating. I kept my mouth shut. Now, I’ve never really been a hunter, spending…
Slippery Jack Coffee Rub
Come the end of fall It’s getting colder, the mushrooms are fewer and farther between and alot of times I’m just hoping not to get skunked. When the blewits, hens, shaggy’s, puffballs or parasols aren’t playing nice, I know I can probably run over to a patch of pine trees and grab a few slippery…
Midwestern Pine Porcini: Boletus subcaerulescens
Update 2020 With the help of other local mushroomers, I’m relatively certain that these boletes are Boletus subcaerulescens. I’ve updated this post with new images in-situ. One thing to mention about these that was so confusing, is the “sub-caerulescens” part of the epithet. “Almost blue staining” The confusing part of the name here, and why…
A Raw Porcini Affetatti
Years ago when I was working at Pazzaluna, I was on the garde manger station making hot and cold apps, salads, and desserts, as well as curating a daily changing selection of antipasti I came up with. One of my favorite snacks, and plates to make was the affetati, an Italian platter of cured meats….
