Porcini (Boletus Edulis) are a quality of mushrooms native to much of Europe, but Italians seems to have a special affection for their “porcino” (literally “little pig”). It’s not clear whether the name comes from its plump rounded shape or from how greedily people seek out these delicious mushrooms. During the season, mushroom hunting became national pastime,  and so I did hunt for them a lot as a kid, with my family, in the mountain (Monte Grappa) nearby my hometown.     Fresh porcini can be eaten in many ways: raw and sliced with a light condiment; pan fried and served with creamy polenta; as main ingredient, or combined with pumpkin in delicious risotto or soups. Obviously if you have the access to fresh porcini the quality of the food you can make is sublime, but since I moved in an American area where fresh Porcini are quite impossible to  be found, I’ve experimented making the traditional Italian porcini mushrooms soup with DRIED PORCINI which are easily available at the groceries store.

Over any expectation the result was pretty much satisfying, and so, here I am sharing this recipe with you!  Dried porcini have a very delicate flavor, and by combining them with mushed potatoes, homemade broth and olive oil you can obtain this amazing delicious soup!

6 servings INGREDIENTS

25 oz. broth (better if homemade)

2 oz. (1/4 cup) Porto

2 lb. peeled red potatoes

40 gr. dried porcini mushrooms

12 oz. (or 1 1/2 cup) water

4 tbs. olive oil

1 garlic clove

1 mushrooms bouillon

1/4 medium sized white onion finely chopped

a generous pinch of salt

black pepper to taste

a sprinkle of  nut meg

DIRECTIONS

I suggest to prepare the broth a day ahead. For the recipe click here. You can use a canned one, better if “chicken broth”.    Soak the dried porcini in 1 1/2 cup of warm water for about five minutes. Then separate the mushrooms from the water. Cut the mushrooms in small pieces with a scissor. Filter the mushrooms water (to separate from possible impurity) and set aside for later.

Steam the peeled potatoes in an inch of water as you would do if preparing mushed potatoes.

Now prepare the base of the soup by sautéing the onion in a pan with 4 tbs. olive oil and the clove of garlic for about 5-8 minutes until the onions become translucent. Add the previously soaked porcini, adjust with salt, pepper, nut meg and let cook at medium heat for about five minutes, stirring time to time to avoid the burning.

Warm up the broth and once the potatoes are steamed, dry them and mush them in a big pot (big enough to contain all the broth you will have to add in a bit). Heat the mush potatoes and add gradually the Porto and mushrooms water. Keep stirring to allow the liquid to get absorbed.

Once all the liquid is absorbed add the sautéed mushrooms.

Finally add the mushrooms bouillon and the hot broth, always a  little it a time. Bring the soup to boiling point and let it cook for another five minutes.

YOU ARE DONE!

Serve the soup very warm preferably the day after you prepared it! This way it would be extra tasty!

LEARNT IT, MADE IT, LOVED IT!

TIPS: – You can decide to add more or less broth depending on how dense you like your soup;

– My husband love to sprinkle the top of the soup with grated parmesan, but I don’t because in my opinion the cheese flavor would cover the mushrooms aroma;

– This soup is even better if eaten the day after, so don’t hesitate to prepare it ahead of time.

– I would discourage to freeze the soup considering the amount of potatoes in it, freezing would alter its creaminess.

DID YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE? DO YOU LIKE MUSHROOMS? HAVE YOU EVER HEARDT ABOUT PORCINI BEFORE?

Please let me know your impressions and share with me other recipes with Porcini! I really love hearing from you and your opinions and feedbacks are very important to me!

Much thanks!

Silvia