Seriously. I can never understand why everyone makes such a big deal over morel mushrooms…yet Fresh Porcini season (which is officially open, by the way) goes completely unheralded. Mushroom sales go from stellar during morel season to stagnant during porcini season.
I don’t get it. I’d take fresh porcini mushrooms over morel mushrooms ANY DAY. In fact, I’d take just about any mushroom over morels.
To me, the ultimate summer meal is to saute sliced porcinis and onions in enough salt and oil as if they were drowning in the sea. Put them over some fresh pasta and top with a chiffonade of basil and some grated parmigiano reggiano. Sit in the sun and slurp oily, shroomy, salty, sweet noodles.
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Oh, I am SO with you. I mean, it has been a pleasure playing with morels, and they are tasty, and cool looking and have a different texture, but porcini with homemade pasta can not be beat. I think that here in MN it’s an availability issue, and the excitement about foraging in your own back yard for an edible mushroom is just too exciting to get past.
Unfortunately…no mushrooms grow in my own actual back yard…the only surprises are those that my dog leaves for me ;(
But, this weekend, I made a caramelized onion and sauteed porcini pizza…it was over the top. Really, all I did was combine the sauteed porcinis and caramelized onions in a food processor and pureed them. Then, I used the porcini/onion mixture as the pizza sauce and added fresh thin sliced porcini and onions, and a chiffonade of basil…then threw it in the oven. And, for the first time, I felt like I had really gotten a pizza right!
Oh my goodness, you have me drooling! I need to not come near this blog anywhere near meal time. Now I’m craving porcinis….