Oven-Roasted or Grilled Porcini Mushrooms
Serves 4
This recipe harks back to the first time I ate roasted porcini in Tuscany in the mid-1970s. They were served straight from the wood-fired pizza oven at Franco’s Pizzeria in a very small village near my country home. Because I don’t have a wood oven at home, I use a grill–which offers some of the same lovely smoky flavor–or in the winter, an ordinary oven thoroughly preheated to a high temperature.
Garlic-Parsley Oil
3/4 cup pure olive oil
2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
6 to 8 Italian parsley sprigs, chopped coarse with stems
1. Add oil to a small saucepan, and stir in garlic and parsley. Heat over low heat for 10 minutes. Strain. The oil may be kept, tightly-closed, in a cool dark place for about a month.
1 4- to 6-inch porcino cap per person, cleaned
Salt and black pepper, freshly ground
Chopped parsley, optional
1. Prepare a grill with wood or wood charcoal. When coals are covered with ash and medium hot, brush grill lightly with a little Garlic-Parsley Oil. Or preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Brush porcini caps liberally with Garlic-Parsley Oil. Place caps, pore-side down, on grill and cook 4 to 5 minutes, making certain there are no hot spots or flare-ups. Sprinkle tops with a little salt while the other side is grilling. Turn porcini, sprinkle with salt, and drizzle with a little more oil. Cook for 3 or 4 more minutes. Test with a small, sharp knife to be certain the porcini are done.
3. To roast in an oven, brush porcini liberally with Garlic-Parsley Oil, and sprinkle lightly with salt. Place mushrooms caps up, in a shallow heatproof dish in the center of the oven. Turn mushrooms after 5 minutes, and drizzle with a little more oil. The porcini should be done in about 10 minutes. Test with a small, sharp knife to check.
4. Serve porcini as soon as they are done, caps up, on a warm platter, or in their roasting dish. Grind a bit of black pepper over them; sprinkle with a little chopped parsley, if desired.
For more recipes and to learn more about mushrooms, read the original article, “A Feast of Wild Mushrooms.”