Thursday, June 30, 2011

Funghi!





I like mushrooms but I find than champignons have very little taste. I guess that I grew up with wild mushrooms (and lots of porcini) so maybe I am a bit of a snob... still, champignons are easy to find and I tend to use them as a 'base', adding other dried mushrooms for extra flavour.

I had a handful of dried porcini and another of dried Chinese black mushrooms, and I soak them in water for 30 minutes. In the meantime I cleaned and chopped 400 g of champignons (I tend to discard the stalks of the champignons, not sure why, but I learned to do it ages ago in Italy and I keep doing it).



I heated some olive oil with a few cloves of garlic, then I added the champignons and some salt. I cooked the mushrooms until all their water was gone (abut 20 minutes) then I added the dried mushrooms and their soaking water. 



After 5 minutes I added the content of a can of finely chopped Italian tomatoes, and some more water from rinsing the can (another 400 ml).


I let the mushrooms simmer, covered, for about one hour (yes that long) until almost all the liquid was gone. It may seem like a long cooking time, but it is winter after all, and it is nice to have a pot simmering on the stove :-).


At the end I added some fresh parsley chopped with a clove of garlic, (about one tbsp in all). I served it with crescentine (as one of the fillings, usually I always have one hot filling for them), but it works well on polenta or pasta, or as a side dish, or as a pie filler.



Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©



22 comments:

  1. Ym with polena.I know what you mean, being back in Germany recently reminded of their pfefferlingen, forest mushrooms, which have s much flavour.

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  2. Mmm. mi hai ricordato un sughetto di funghi che faceva mia nonna quando ero bambina....adoro i funghi, ma rischio sempre di esagerare :)

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  3. Ho il tuo stesso problema, qui solo champignons...non sanno di nulla, ma provo il tuo trucchetto :-)

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  4. Very aromatic delight a perfect recipe for me, I love mushrooms, delicious to the palate, very good proposal, big hugs to and affection.

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  5. Love fungus!This looks so delectable and I would definitely ask for a 2nd helping!

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  6. si si i funghi sono buonissimi e quel tuo sughetto fa venire fame!!! un bacione

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  7. wow this recipe is new for me!!should give a try!!looks delicious!!!
    Happy Blogging!!!!
    Food Blog News Daily
    Good Food Recipes

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  8. gli champignones li ho fatti stasera, crudi ed affettati molto sottilmente in insalata con pomodorini a pezzetti, cetrioli in agrodolce, lattughino, no-muh, conditi con olio evo e tamari....una squisitezza ^^
    poi i porcini per me sono il non plus ultra :))

    il tuo contorno/sugoperlapasta/basedisecondo è moooooolto appetibile ^^
    Bibi

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  9. wonderful recipe with mushrooms, looks great n delicious..!!

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  10. @ B. si a volte penso che gli champignons siano solo da mangiare crudi e marinati... quanto mi mancano i porcini freschi!!!!!

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  11. ti capisco, io amo i porcini e di solito ne mangio tanti perché mia mamma va a cercarli e se li trova li mangiamo, altrimenti... champignon, ma chiamarli funghi è proprio difficile...baci

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  12. For some reason I never acquired a taste for mushrooms but you recipe looks good enough to try :-)

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  13. Tam, nei negozi ci sono solo quelli qui, e i potobello (che sono come grandi champignons aperti....). Ogni tanto nei negozi cinesi trovo qualche fungo esotico, ma il sapore non e' come quello dei nostri funghi di bosco.

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  14. Mushrooms are one of my favourite foods in the world! I could eat them everyday. I know what you mean about the champignons though. The small brown caps have a more pronounced flavour than those white ones, so that's often the ones I get.

    Alli - the best mushroom dish I ever tasted was in Germany! Don't remember the name of the town but it was near Ettal Basilica in southern Bavaria. It was swoon-worthy.

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  15. Ciao Alessandra, sono Mario e mi piace molto tua blog, Allora, thats all the italian I qill write for now. I am from California and am visiting your blog. You have a very professional yet personal format. Bravo! Lot's of colors, ideas, subjects. It woeks beautifully. And the Labne Ball photo is my favorite.
    I also write a blog on food and love and recipes and relationships. Please visit. Maybe follow. My wife and I just got back from Italy. What a great trip. A presto!

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  16. Welcome Mario, I am coming over to have a look now :-)

    Ciao
    A.

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  17. A me tutto sommato piacciono molto anche gli champignon, che con l'aggiunta di una manciata di porcini secchi acquistano ben più sapore. Mai fatti col pomodoro, proverò il tuo trucchetto. Baci, buon we

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  18. Love funghi! Perfect for winter...warming & delicious!

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  19. It looks very full of flavour when you cook it down like that! Delicious! :D

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  20. @ Federica, col pomodoro e' come li fa mia madre, mi piacciono anche senza, ma mi piace variare :-).

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  21. I adore mushrooms! I was also taught to cut off the stalks of mushrooms but I don't do it anymore. Maybe if I'm cooking for guests. If the stalk is edible, why it should go to waste? I cut off the stalks of Chinese dried mushrooms. They are different texture to the rest of the mushroom, so they are removed and added to any stock or sauce I'm making.

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  22. We love mushrooms, especially after we learned about their cancer-fighting powers. This dish looks so good, I could eat the pixels!

    Peace :)

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