porcini

So there are all kinds of ways to vary this recipe. Let&#039;s start with the meat. Traditionally merguez is 100 percent lamb, so you can do that if you want. For venison, you can use 100 percent venison if the animal was fat (read this article on venison fat if you are nervous about using it), or 4 pounds lean venison with 1 pound pork fatback or beef fat, or 3 pounds venison with 2 pounds fatty pork shoulder. Sheep casings make this sausage, and you can sometimes get them in good butcher shops, or you can buy sheep casings online from The Sausage Maker. Yes, you can do merguez in hog casings, but it&#039;s obviously not traditional.

Merguez Sausages

venison

venison fat

pork fatback

kosher salt, (about 3 rounded tablespoons)

garlic

sweet paprika

black pepper

cumin

coriander seed

harissa

red wine vinegar

water

Sheep casings

Get out about 20 feet of sheep casings and soak them in warm water. If you don’t trust your source, run water through them to check for punctures or weak spots.

Make sure all your equipment is cold; freeze your grinder's grinding plate and blades, and the bowl you will put the meat into for 30 minutes to an hour. Do the same for the meat and fat. When everything’s nice and cold, mix the meat and fat with the salt and all the dry spices.

Grind it all through a coarse plate; I use a 10 mm plate. Test the temperature of the mixture, and if it’s 35°F or colder, go ahead and grind it all again through a fine die, like a 4.5 mm or thereabouts. If it’s warmer, put the mix back in the freezer to chill until it hits 35°F or cooler.

Once the sausage has been ground twice, test the temperature again to make sure it’s cold. I prefer to chill the mix down to 28°F to 32°F for this next stage. Chill the mix and when it’s cold enough, take it out and add the harissa, vinegar and water. Now, mix and knead the mixture in a big bin or bowl with your hands for a solid 2 minutes — your hands will ache with cold, which is good. You want everything to almost emulsify.

Stuff the sausage into sheep casings rather loosely. It's pretty important that you have a narrow stuffing tube for your stuffer, or the sheep casings will break. I like my merguez to be about 6 to 8 inches long, but it’s your choice. To twist them into links, tie off one end of the coil you just made. Pinch off links with your two hands and roll the link between them forward a couple times. Move down the coil and repeat, only this time roll backwards a few times. Repeat until you do the whole coil. Now look at the links, which will probably have air pockets in them. Use a sterile needle or sausage pricker (set it aglow in your stovetop flame) to puncture the casing over all the air pockets. Gently compress the links together to squeeze out the air pockets and rotate the links a bit more to tighten; this takes practice.

Hang your links for at least 1 hour if your room is warm, and up to overnight if you can hang them in a place that’s 40°F or cooler. Don’t let them freeze yet. If you are not hanging overnight, let the sausages continue to dry uncovered in the fridge overnight before you seal them up and freeze. Merguez will keep a week in the fridge and a year in the freezer, if you have vacuum-sealed them.

Here’s the problem with homemade stock: It’s so good that it doesn’t last long. What’s needed is something you can produce more or less on the spot. 

Although water is a suitable proxy in small quantities, when it comes to making the bubbling, chest-warming soups that we rely on in winter, water needs some help. Fortunately, there are almost certainly flavorful ingredients sitting in your fridge or pantry that can transform water into a good stock in a matter of minutes.

This recipe is meant to be fast, so by ‘‘simmer,’’ I mean as little as five minutes and no more than 15. You can season these stocks at the end with salt and pepper to taste, or wait until you’re ready to turn them into full-fledged soups.

Mark Bittman's Mushroom Stock

button mushrooms, trimmed

Some onion, carrot or celery (optional)

Toss a pound of trimmed button mushrooms and a few dried porcini into 6 cups water. It need not be more complicated than this, but adding some onion, carrot or celery makes it even better.

Strain the mushrooms out if you like, but make sure to use them for something.

A risotto oozing with rich winter flavours, perfect for a curl-up-on-the-couch meal

Wild mushroom, chicken & bacon risotto

dried porcini mushrooms

chicken stock

pack dessert chestnut mushrooms, sliced

rashers smoked streaky bacon, chopped

butter

onion, finely chopped

risotto rice (we used arborio)

small glass white wine

parmesan, finely grated

leftover roast chicken, skinned and chopped

parsley leaves, chopped

Soak the dried mushrooms in 500ml boiling water for 20 mins, then drain the liquid into the stock. The mushrooms will have absorbed a lot of the liquid; you should have 1.5l in total. Chop the soaked mushrooms and add to the chestnut mushrooms.

Make the risotto: start by frying the bacon in half the butter, then add the onion. When they are soft, add the mushrooms and continue to cook for a few mins until soft. Stir through the rice and continue as in the basic recipe. When you add the final ladle of stock, stir through the chicken to reheat. Add the chopped parsley with the Parmesan and remaining butter, leave to rest for a few mins, then stir through and serve.

For a full meal in a bowl, serve this deeply flavorful soup with warm brown rice or noodles.

Tofu Mushroom Soup

mushrooms (about 1 cup), preferably porcinis

mushrooms

button

garlic,

salt,

ginger,

soy sauce

cilantro

chives

Place dried mushrooms in a bowl or large heatproof measuring cup and cover with 2 cups boiling water. Let sit for 30 minutes. If mushrooms are sandy, agitate from time to time. Line a strainer with cheesecloth and place over a 1-quart measuring cup. Drain through the strainer, then twist mushrooms in the cheesecloth, holding them over the strainer, to squeeze out the last of the flavorful liquid. Discard reconstituted mushrooms or set aside for another use.

While porcinis are soaking, pull tough stems away from shiitake mushroom caps. Slice caps thin and set aside.

Combine the mushroom broth with enough water to make 9 cups liquid and place in a saucepan or soup pot. Add shiitake stems, quartered button or cremini mushrooms, halved head of garlic, salt and ginger slices, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to remove mushrooms, stems, garlic and ginger from broth. Add soy sauce to broth. Taste and adjust salt.

Bring broth back to a boil and add tofu. Reduce heat to a simmer or a gentle boil, cover partly and simmer for 30 minutes. Tofu will puff a little, and texture will become more porous and spongy.

Add thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro and chives. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve.

This version of the classic French soup simmers and bakes in a Dutch oven, while the toast broils right on top. Dried porcini mushrooms, fresh fennel and leeks provide deep umami flavor. Unless you have homemade beef stock on hand, go with a good chicken stock rather than boxed beef stock, which tastes mostly of salt. You could opt for vegetable stock for a vegetarian version, but skip the demi-glace, in that case. The preparation of this soup is time-consuming, but the flavor is well worth the effort. You can make the soup through Step 5 up to two days ahead of time. When ready to serve, reheat on the stove then continue with the final baking step for a hearty communal feast.

One-Pot French Onion Soup With Porcini Mushrooms

porcini mushrooms

unsalted butter

olive oil

onions

Kosher salt and black pepper

fennel bulb, trimmed, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise

all-purpose flour

dry white wine

thyme sprigs

bay leaf

beef stock chicken stock

veal, beef

(3/4-inch-thick) slices sourdough, peasant

grated Gruyère (about 4 ounces)

Parmesan (about 2 ounces)

Bring a small saucepan with about 2 1/2 cups water to a boil over high and place mushrooms in 2-cup glass measuring cup. Pour boiling water over the mushrooms to fill the cup (a little less than 2 cups) and set aside.

Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in oil and onions, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 15 minutes. Turn heat up to medium-high, season with salt and pepper and continue cooking, covered, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.

Add fennel and leeks, season again, and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.

Remove lid, increase heat to high and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are deeply browned, about 5 minutes. Lower the heat if the buildup on the bottom of the pot threatens to burn. Sprinkle with flour and cook, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes.

Scoop the mushrooms out of their liquid, reserving liquid and chop mushrooms finely. Add chopped mushrooms, wine, thyme sprigs and bay leaf to the pot. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, until wine is mostly evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Add reserved mushroom liquid to the pot, pouring the liquid slowly and discarding the last few drops of liquid, which may contain grit. Pour in the stock and demi-glace, if using, and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any residue. Reduce to a simmer, and cook uncovered until flavors meld, about 30 minutes. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 375 degrees. Fit the toasted bread on the surface of the soup in an even layer, breaking them up as needed to cover the surface. Sprinkle with the Gruyère and Parmesan. Set the Dutch oven on a baking sheet and bake in the middle of the oven until the cheese is bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Heat oven to broil and continue cooking until cheese is melted and golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

Rich and earthy, this creamy pasta feels appropriate for date night, but comes together quickly enough for a weeknight. The process is simple, but the details do matter here: Use a thin pasta, like spaghettini or angel hair, so that it cooks in the same amount of time it takes the stock and cream to reduce to a sauce. Also pay close attention during the last few minutes of cooking the pasta to ensure you’re stirring enough and adding enough water to create a silky sauce. Porcini mushroom powder, which is optional, adds depth, and can be made at home by pulverizing store-bought dried mushrooms in a spice grinder (see Tip). Offset the richness of the dish with a classic green salad, <a href="https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019023-fennel-apple-salad-with-walnuts?action=click&module=Global Search Recipe Card&pgType=search&rank=2">shaved fennel</a>, or some <a href="https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013401-bitter-greens-salad-with-lemon-mustard-dressing?action=click&module=Global Search Recipe Card&pgType=search&rank=24">mustardy bitter greens</a>.

Mushroom Ragù Pasta

stock

heavy cream

porcini mushroom powder, optional (see Tip)

thyme leaves

Kosher salt

mushrooms,

shallots, finely chopped

garlic cloves, finely chopped

Black pepper

port wine

spaghettini or angel hair pasta

Add the stock, heavy cream, porcini mushroom powder (if using), 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves and 2 teaspoons salt to a large pot. Bring to a boil over high.

While the liquid comes to a boil, heat the oil over medium-high in a large (12-inch) nonstick skillet. Add the mushrooms, shallots, garlic and 2 teaspoons thyme leaves. Season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized and tender, about 12 minutes. Add the port, and stir until the alcohol cooks off and the mixture is almost dry, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, set aside and cover to keep warm.

Add the pasta to the boiling cream mixture, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently with tongs, until the pasta is al dente and absorbs most of the liquid, and the sauce is silky, 6 to 7 minutes. (Stir constantly during the last couple minutes to ensure the pasta cooks evenly. Add a splash of water if needed to keep the mixture glossy.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer the pasta to bowls, top with the mushroom mixture and the remaining 1 teaspoon thyme leaves, and serve immediately.

Rich and full of umami savouriness, this simple creamy mushroom sauce is perfect with steak, chicken or tossed through hot pasta

Mushroom sauce

tbsp dried porcini mushrooms

shallots, finely diced

chestnut mushrooms, sliced

crème fraîche

Pour 100ml of boiling water over the dried porcini and leave to stand for 5 mins. In a saucepan, heat the butter and add the shallots, frying gently until they are soft and translucent. Add the chestnut mushrooms and cook for 5 mins more. When they are cooked, pour in 1 tbsp of the liquor from the porcini and discard the rest. Chop the porcini and add them to the pan. Fold in the crème fraîche, bring to a simmer then season.

This recipe, adapted from the slow-cooking maven Lorna Sass, proves that pressure cookers shouldn’t be associated with overcooked food. The rice turns out perfectly in the end, and you save a lot of time and effort. It’s finished off with peas for a bit of color, and the usual cheese, salt and pepper. It’s a meal that will justify buying that pressurized pot.

Pressure Cooker Porcini Risotto

arborio rice

porcini,

peas

Parmesan,

Salt and pepper

parsley,

Heat the oil over high heat in a 2 1/2-quart or larger stovetop pressure cooker, or in an electric pressure cooker using the sauté function. Add the onions, and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in the rice, taking care to coat it with the oil. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Stir in the wine. Cook over high heat until the rice has absorbed the wine, about 30 seconds. Stir in 3 cups of the broth and the porcini, taking care to scrape up any rice that might be sticking to the bottom of the cooker.

Lock the lid in place. Over high heat, bring to high pressure. Reduce the heat just enough to maintain high pressure, and cook for 4 minutes. Turn off the heat. Quick-release the pressure by setting the cooker under cold running water. Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow the steam to escape. If using an electric cooker, cook at high pressure for 4 minutes. Manually release the pressure.

Set the cooker over medium-high heat or turn on the sauté function, and stir vigorously. The risotto will look fairly soupy at this point. Boil while stirring every minute or so, until the mixture thickens and the rice is tender but still chewy, 1 to 4 minutes. Stir in the peas when the rice is almost done. (if the mixture becomes dry before the rice is done, stir in the extra 1/2 cup of broth. The finished risotto should be slightly runny; it will continue to thicken as it sits on the plate.)

Turn off the heat. Stir in the Parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, garnished with a little parsley. Pass extra Parmesan
at the table.

Mark Bittman makes Porcini Risotto with Lorna Sass, a cookbook author and pressure-cooking expert. 

Under pressure: Porcini Risotto

I use porcini mushrooms here, but any mushroom you can find will do. As for the optional porcini powder, you can make your own or grind store-bought dried porcini with a spice grinder.

Mushroom Ravioli

farro, spelt or whole wheat flour ((about 1 cup))

all-purpose flour ((about 1 heaping cup))

water ((about 3/4 cup))

porcini powder ((about 2 tablespoons))

fresh porcini, or cremini mushrooms, (chopped)

thyme

Salt

sage

Lemon juice

Make the dough

Mix the two flours and porcini powder in a large bowl and mix to combine. Make a well in the center of the flour. Pour the water into the well in the flour. Mix with a fork until shaggy, then mix with your hands until the dough comes together. Knead on a floured surface for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the dough is elastic, and not sticky. Wrap in plastic wrap, and set aside for at least 1 hour, and up to a day in the fridge.

Make the filling

Brown the porcini in the butter, then add the garlic. Sprinkle some salt over the pan. Saute everything until the garlic turns golden, then pour in the cream and the thyme. Simmer gently until the porcini are soft, about 5 minutes. Toss the thyme sprigs and scrape everything into a blender. Buzz into a puree. Taste for salt again and add some if needed.

Make the ravioli

Set yourself up a large area to work. Cut the dough into four pieces. Cover the rest with the plastic wrap. Roll the dough out until it is a long, thin sheet -- but not all the way to the final setting; I go to No. 6 on my Atlas machine, where No. 9 is the thinnest. Cut the sheet in half. Place about a teaspoon of filling at the center of one sheet, about 2 inches apart. Pat the filling down into a flattish disk. Lay the other sheet on top of the first one, and press it down around the filling, leaving no air pockets. Use a pasta cutter or a knife to cut the ravioli out. Set each one on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal.

Finish

To finish, get a large pot of water boiling, and salt it well. In a large saute pan, melt the butter over high heat. Add the mushrooms to the pan, cut side down if you&#039;ve halved them. Brown them well on that side, then flip and cook on the other. At this point, move the ravioli to the boiling water, about 10 at a time. Boil for 1 minute after they float to the surface. Move them to the pan and toss with the fresh mushrooms and butter. Add the sage and freshly ground black pepper. Spritz with a touch of lemon juice and serve.

Clean the mushrooms, separating the stems and the caps. Finely chop the shallot, cube the apple, slice the mushrooms and brown everything in a pan wit...

Duck breast with porcini mushrooms

duck breast

apple

shallot

Rosemary

Parsley

White wine

Vegetable broth

Lemon

Butter

Pepper

Clean the mushrooms, separating the stems and the caps. Finely chop the shallot, cube the apple, slice the mushrooms and brown everything in a pan with a little bit of oil. Slit the duck skin to prevent it from curling while cooking. Slightly pepper the breast and brown it in an oven-safe pan with a little bit of hot oil and a sprig of rosemary for 1 and a half minutes skin-side down. Then turn it, pour in half a glass of white wine, add half of the mushroom caps and bake at 400°F for 7-8 minutes or a little longer, depending on the how cooked you like the duck to be.

Remove from the oven and let the breast rest for 10 minutes, wrapped in aluminum foil. Puree the cooking juices with 1/4 cup vegetable broth and the remaining mushroom caps to make a sauce. Take a few slices of garlic and chop them along with a sprig of parsley. Melt a pat of butter in the pan you used to cook the meat, along with a little bit of grated and chopped lemon zest. Then add a touch of white wine and once it has almost entirely evaporated, add the sauce, salt and pepper. Slice the duck breast and serve it with the apple, porcini stems and caps and the sauce.

This is the perfect welcome-home warmer after a cold country walk, simply add some crusty bread

Walkers' wild mushroom, bacon & barley broth

pack bacon lardons

carrots

celery

rosemary and thyme

pack dried porcini or dried mixed wild mushrooms

glass white wine

pearl barley

spring greens cabbage

Put a large saucepan over a medium heat. Sizzle the lardons or bacon for 10 mins until golden, stirring now and then. While they cook, chop the onions, carrots and celery into smallish pieces. When the bacon is ready, stir in the veg, garlic and herbs, cover and gently cook for 10 mins.

Meanwhile, put the mushrooms into a jug, then fill up to the 600ml mark with boiling water. Leave to soak for 10 mins.

Lift the mushrooms out of their juice with a slotted spoon and roughly chop. Turn up the heat under the pan, add the mushrooms, fry for 1 min, then pour in the wine. Let it evaporate right down, then pour the liquid from the mushroom jug into the pan, avoiding the last drops, as they can be gritty. Add the stock and barley. Simmer for 40 mins until the barley is tender. Lift out the thyme and rosemary stalks. Can be made up to 2 days ahead or frozen for up to 1 month. If you make ahead, the soup will need loosening with a little more stock as the barley will thicken it over time.

When ready to serve, finely shred the greens and simmer in the soup for 5 mins until tender. Season to taste, then serve with cheese for sprinkling over the top, crusty bread and buttter.

Use porcini and wild mushrooms to make this rich and creamy soup that makes a filling yet light supper for cold nights. Serve with croutons and chives

Creamy mushroom soup

dried porcini (ceps)

garlic clove, sliced

mixed wild mushrooms

vegetable stock

tub crème fraîche

white bread,

chives and truffle oil, to serve

Bring a kettle to the boil, then pour the water over the dried porcini just to cover. Heat half the butter in a saucepan, then gently sizzle the onion, garlic and thyme for 5 mins until softened and starting to brown. Drain the porcini, reserving the juice, then add to the onion with the mixed wild mushrooms. Leave to cook for 5 mins until they go limp.

Pour over the stock and the reserved juices, bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 mins. Stir in crème fraîche, then simmer for a few mins more. Blitz the soup with a hand blender or liquidiser, pass through a fine sieve, then set aside.

Heat the remaining butter in a frying pan, fry the bread cubes until golden, then drain on kitchen paper. To serve, heat the soup and froth up with a hand blender, if you like. Ladle the soup into bowls, scatter over the croûtons and chives and drizzle with truffle oil.

Ixta Belfrage's porcini ragu

dried porcini

Tbsp olive oil,

garlic, very finely chopped (not crushed!)

½ tsp chilli flakes (or less if you prefer)

parsley

salt

1½ Tbsp tomato purée/paste

twists black pepper

dried tagliatelle nests

parmesan, very finely grated, plus extra to serve

Tbsp double cream

In a medium bowl, cover the porcini with boiling water and leave to soak for 10 minutes. Drain, reserving 75g of the soaking liquid. Very finely chop the porcini to mince consistency, then set aside.

Put the oil, garlic, chilli flakes, parsley and fine salt into a cold, large sauté pan on a medium-low heat. Very gently fry for 5 minutes until soft and lightly golden,  turning the heat down if the garlic starts to brown.

Increase the heat to medium-high, then add the chopped porcini, tomato purée/paste and plenty of pepper. Stir-fry for 3 minutes, then set the pan aside while you boil the pasta.

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water for about 6 minutes, until al dente. Drain, reserving 350g of the pasta water.

Return the sauté pan with the porcini to a medium-high heat, then add the 350g of pasta water and the reserved 75g of porcini soaking liquid. Stir, and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, leave to bubble away for 3 minutes.

Add half the parmesan to the pan, stirring until it has melted before adding the rest. Lower the heat to medium, then stir in the cream, followed by the drained tagliatelle. Toss over the heat until the pasta and sauce have emulsified – about 1½ minutes.

Remove from the heat and serve at once, finished with as much extra oil and parmesan as your heart desires.

Form the dough by combining the flour with the eggs and 1 tablespoon of oil, then let it rest, covered, for 1 hour. Flour the work surface and roll ou...

Top 16 porcini recipes from across the web

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Top Tags

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Pressure Cooker Porcini Risotto

Mushroom Ravioli

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Top 16 porcini recipes from across the web

The most viewed porcini recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Merguez Sausages

Mark Bittman's Mushroom Stock

Wild mushroom, chicken & bacon riso...

Tofu Mushroom Soup

One-Pot French Onion Soup With Porc...

Mushroom Ragù Pasta

Mushroom sauce

Pressure Cooker Porcini Risotto

Mushroom Ravioli

Duck breast with porcini mushrooms

Walkers' wild mushroom, bacon & bar...

Creamy mushroom soup

Ixta Belfrage's porcini ragu

Tagliolini with Porcini Mushrooms

Vegan Mushroom Bourguignon

Pork belly, guanciale and porcini p...

The most viewed porcini recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine