Using only a handful of dried porcini mushrooms will make a lovely flavored pasta sauce.
By Tamara Novacoviç

In the vast culinary world of edible mushrooms, only one can be called king. Porcini mushrooms. Because of their flavor and the fact that they are seasonal and not cultivated, but collected in the wild, either fresh or dried porcini are one of the most sought after mushrooms in the world.

Porcini mushrooms have such a beautiful earthy, somewhat nutty flavor reminiscent of forest ground, colorful leaves and damp autumn air. Every season we stroll around the woods looking for these beauties. My dad has a radar for them, I swear it’s almost as if he can smell them miles away. He is a natural talent for detecting porcini mushrooms (smile) and even has a special secret place (well, not so secret any more) up in the woods among pine trees, where a different type of porcini grow, with distinct flavor and darker color.

Porcini mushrooms are somewhat expensive and are most often offered in dried versions. Each time I look at their price I feel so grateful we collect and have our own.Dried porcini have a concentrated flavor and aroma that is excellent in risottos, soups, and sauces. This flavor is just waiting to be released simply by soaking them in water or any other cooking liquid. A strong mushroom aroma should greet you once opening the package, if the mushrooms have no smell, then they have no flavor either and means they are too old. Only a handful of these lovelies will give grace to an elegant stew or sauce, as well as vigorously stand up to something as flavorful as a thick grilled steak.

I got the inspiration for this meal a week or so ago when I tried something similar in a restaurant. My mom used to make similar sauce but with different mushrooms and there really is no mushroom like porcini, so this is for me the best so far. The sauce is versatile, you can use it in a risotto or gnocchi, even with meat.