Dried porcini pack plenty of flavor
Dried porcini are different but no less fascinating than the fresh version, writes Italian cooking authority Marcella Hazan in her book ''Marcella's Italian Kitchen." The popular dried mushroom, a favorite among Italian cooks, is perfect for seasoning the kinds of warming foods we might be craving about now, such as risottos, pasta dishes, soups, and sauces.
In the package, the porcini may look like mere cream-and-brown-tinted flakes -- although occasionally you'll find nice whole slices in a package. But when reconstituted and added to dishes, dried porcini bring a rich mushroomy, woodsy flavor and aroma. Mushroom ragout, soup, and risotto will have a more concentrated, lively flavor when dried porcini are added.
The name porcini (pronounced por-CHEE-nee) comes from the Italian ''porcellino," or piglet, inspired by the mushroom's rounded, pudgy shape and bulbous stem. When reconstituted in hot water, the softened mushrooms can be used like their fresh counterparts in cooked foods; the bonus is a powerfully flavored broth to add to sauces and soups or to stir into risotto. Grind the dried mushrooms fine and the powder can be sprinkled into pasta or bread dough or used as a garnish for finished dishes. Turning the reconstituted mushrooms into a rich paste is another way to enjoy their earthy flavor.
The brief seasons for wild mushrooms, says local expert Benjamin Maleson, make drying a classic technique for their preservation. ''Dried mushrooms have a special quality of their own," says Maleson, and dried porcini, he continues, ''are one of the most flavorful varieties."
In the mycological world, where the fungi are revered, porcini (known as cepes in France) are hailed as ''King Bolete," derived from its species name, Boletus edulis.
Kevin Crawley, chef and co-owner of Coriander Bistro in Sharon, is a big fan of fresh and dried porcini, often employing in one dish what he calls a ''triple flavor stack" of sauteed fresh porcini, porcini-infused oil, and porcini powder. The powder is the finishing touch. When the heat of the food penetrates the flavorful dust, it releases a deep, woodsy aroma, explains Crawley. Porcini powder also goes into the restaurant's gnocchi dough.
At the Northern Italian restaurant La Morra, in Brookline Village, chef-owner Josh Ziskin uses reconstituted dried porcini in Tuscan meatballs called polpette, in braises, and as a seasoning for roasted potatoes. For the potatoes, the chef tosses butter flavored with sauteed porcini, garlic, and shallots with chunks of roasted Yukon golds. Dried porcini, as compared to fresh, says Ziskin, ''have more flavor, which is flavoring the butter, which is flavoring the potatoes."
When Maleson, who supplies many restaurants in and around Boston with fresh mushrooms from all over the world, wants to dry certain varieties, he uses a fan-forced dehydrator that can dry up to 10 pounds of fresh mushrooms -- yielding about one pound dried -- overnight. Home cooks can dehydrate mushrooms the old-fashioned way: Place clean, thinly sliced mushrooms on a screen or cake rack. Preheat the oven to its lowest setting, then turn it off. ''You don't want to cook them," says Maleson. Place the mushrooms in the oven for one to three days, checking every 12 hours or so, until they're dry and brittle. Make sure all the moisture has evaporated or else the dried mushrooms can become moldy.
To explore the magic of dried porcini, purchase a few ounces from a reputable source and experiment with them. ''Porcini are very aromatic mushrooms," says Crawley, who advises a light-handed approach when using them. Flavor and scent aside, though, the chef adds, ''people just like the sound of the word 'porcini.' It's very Italian."
