Wild Things Round Up - Porcini Mushrooms

Whoa, August was a big blur of fungus for me.  How about you?  We have such a narrow window of time, here in the Rockies, to harvest mushrooms.  The summers monsoons boom, and we have a few precious week to wander the hills and collect our harvest of mushrooms for the year.  Call it uncivilized if you will (a'hem Hank!), but it is glorious and exciting as hell
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I hope that you are fortunate enough to someday wander the woods, and to know the joy of the earth swallowing your footsteps, and your heart pounding out of your chest as you spot the perfect Boletus edulis just peeking out of the edge of a clearing.  In my opinion, it is a foraging high that can rarely be matched.  I hope that you enjoy these recipes from my mushrooming friends, as well.

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When I first started talking to Jen about foraging for porcini mushrooms, she humored me, "yeah yeah, very interesting, but I'll never be into foraging."  Wa-ha!  I got her.  As the season progressed, my dear friend the porcini piggy started keeping a few mushrooms from each of our trips.  At first, she riffed off of some of my recipe ideas, making Fresh Porcini Mushroom Pasta, and Porcini Pizza.  Then, as the season started to wear on, she started to become enticed not just by finding them, but their glorious flavor as well, making Porcini Mushroom Tempura Sushi Handrolls.  Sweet victory, when I friend who loves food like I do also grows to love wild CO mushrooms!

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You know that you can count on the Dyhanaverse to provide you with a tasty dairy-free version of mushroom dip.  Try this one with your Boletus edulis mushrooms today.

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You've gotta know that Hank Shaw, Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, knows how to treat his Boletus edulis mushroom right.  Have a peek at some of his favorite porcini mushroom recipes - Grilled Porcini, Lacquered Porcini, Pocini Ravioli, and Porcini Sugo.

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I'll admit that my mind and heart were swirling with all things Boletus rubriceps hunting this month.  I came home from mushroom forays tired, and wanting simple meals.  The tough bit about mushroom hunting is that after a fine day of hunting, you are faced with hours and hours of processing, if you want to properly preserve your find.  This means that meals made from fresh porcini are often simple and elegant.  But really, is there any other way to serve the most sought-after mushroom on the planet when you've got it fresh in hand?  No. go simple.  Check out some of the recipes I make with freshly harvested Boletus species mushrooms....

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Thanks to those of you who shared your gorgeous porcini mushroom recipes. See you next month.