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Porcini Mushroom

Raw Cèpes Salad

Because the mushrooms aren't cooked, it's important to use very fresh cèpes in this salad. When shopping, look for firm mushrooms with no dark brown spots.

Planked Beef Fillets with Porcini Slather

This is one of our favorite ways to plank meat, especially boneless steaks and chops. We grill one side of the meat to give it the direct flame and char that tastes and looks so good, then we slide the uncooked side of the steak directly onto the plank. The result is a great contrast in textures, with the seared crisp char on one side and the tender woodsiness on the other side. We also add smoke flavor to this recipe, but you can omit the smoke if you want. The porcini slather makes a little more than 3/4 cup, and it will keep refrigerated for up to 1 week. You will need only half of it for this recipe, so save the rest to use another time on pork chops or chicken. It's also great as a dipping sauce for bread. Suggested plank: 1 cedar or oak grilling plank, soaked in water for at least 1 hour
Suggested wood: Apple, oak, or pecan chips

Mushroom and Leek Soup with Parsley Dumplings

Porcini and crimini mushrooms give this hearty soup its deep, almost meaty flavor. Cottage cheese holds the cheesy, parsley-flecked dumplings together.

Potato Gnocchi with Pork and Wild Mushroom Ragù

It does not get cozier than this hearty dish. Yes, you’ll make your own gnocchi. And yes, it’s totally worth the effort.

Wild Mushroom and Onion Kasha

Porcini mushrooms reinvent a traditional Eastern European pilaf and add oomph. Try it as a meatless main course.

Grilled Lamb Chops with Porcini Mustard

Rubbed all over with a mixture of garlic, fresh rosemary, salt, and pepper, then grilled, these chops are so good that you might imagine they need no further embellishment—until you try them with a dab of the pungent porcini mustard. For tips on how to cut a rack of lamb into chops.

Glazed Chicken with Porcini and Crisp Potatoes

Roast chicken may be the epitome of comfort food, but a few little flourishes can make it the stuff of dreams. Here, porcini mushrooms infuse the bird with a woodsy aroma while soaking up all that golden chicken goodness; then they’re tossed with potatoes to serve alongside. Take advantage of the liquid left over from soaking the dried mushrooms to make a glaze, tempering its earthiness with honey and Marsala. Brushed on during the last minutes in the oven, it turns the bronzed skin into a much-coveted treat.

Veal Cacciatore

Chicken cacciatore is a ubiquitous dish in Italian-American restaurants, but we think it is even more delicious when made with veal shoulder roast. Slowly braising the meat in a heady tomato sauce enriched with pancetta, olives, and porcini produces a dish so good, you'll find yourself sneaking nibbles all the way to the table. It's even better the next day—if you can contain yourself.

Porcini Mushroom Soup

This soup is inspired by one that food editor Paul Grimes's Russian grandmother used to make. Dark and woodsy porcini mushrooms add potent aroma and depth and are enlivened by the acidity of tomatoes and the lovely brightness of fresh herbs.

Luke's Wild Mushroom Orzo

Luke Ostrom is a great cook. We've worked together for a long time; we've spent long nights drinking and talking food; we even traveled through Italy together. He knows his stuff, no doubt. So when he tells me we should try something, I usually listen. But when he started going on about orzo in our opening-menu-planning sessions, I was less than enthusiastic. He loved it when he was a kid, he said. It was so soul-satisfying and delicious, he said. It would make a great side dish on our menu, he said. But I wasn't buying it. I thought orzo was the kind of comfort food you fed to children and invalids: too bland, too soft, too ... boring. Boy, was I wrong. Luke's take on orzo can definitely qualify as comfort food: it's hearty, warm, and delicious, the kind of thing you can't stop eating. But it's also grown-up and complex: the wild mushrooms give it a rich earthiness, and the orzo has a great mouth-feel. It's sort of like the mushroom risotto of your dreams—only it's way easier. It's a great match with poultry or meat; but as far as I'm concerned, ain't nothing wrong with sitting down to a big heaping bowlful of this stuff all on its own, topped with a handful of Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Spinach Porcini Stuffing

Mushroom Soup with Hazelnut Gremolata

Gremolata is traditionally made with chopped garlic, parsley, and lemon peel; this one incorporates chopped hazelnuts and uses orange peel instead of lemon.

Beef, Vegetable, and Wild Mushroom Soup

This soup gets a rich, earthy flavor from dried porcini mushrooms, which are available in the produce section of many supermarkets and at Italian markets and specialty foods stores.

Creamy Soft Polenta with Meat Ragù

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Rick Tramonto's book Fantastico! I serve this traditional side dish as an antipasto. Guess what? I like it more as a small plate to kick off a meal than as a side. On the other hand, you could serve this in larger amounts as a side dish or even instead of a pasta course. And because the ragu is even better the second day, I make a lot, so you will have leftovers. Soft polenta, blended with plenty of cheese and butter, is lusciously creamy and becomes the delicious base for the meaty mushroom and sausage ragu. This is a terrific start to a fall meal of fish and a salad. Polenta may be yellow or white; I prefer yellow because of its color and slightly earthy, intense flavor.

Potato Gratin with Porcini Mushrooms and Mascarpone Cheese

Over-the-top delicious.

Three-Mushroom Dressing with Prosciutto

Mushroom fans, this one's for you: a hearty rosemary-bread dressing made with dried porcini as well as shiitake and button mushrooms.

Porcini Mushroom Turkey with Mushroom Gravy

Both the turkey and the gravy get big-time flavor from earthy dried porcini mushrooms.

Fettuccine with Wild Mushroom Sauce

To preserve and enhance the fettuccine's subtle flavor, toss it with a light sauce like this one.

Grilled Porcini Chicken

Mixing dried porcini with tomato paste is a simple way to omit butter and still keep chicken moist while infusing it with a woodsy mushroom flavor.

Porcini-Crusted Filet Mignon with Fresh Herb Butter

Ground dried mushrooms become a flavorful crust for the steaks.