4. Taste and correct for salt. Add the chopped parsley, stir well once or twice, then transfer the contents of the pan to a warm platter, and serve at once.
Note If you allow the mushrooms to cool down to room temperature they will make an excellent antipasto. They can be served as part of a buffet or on their own, on thin slices of grilled or toasted bread.
Method 2
For 6 servings
To the ingredients in the preceding recipe add:
A small packet OR 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted and cut up
The filtered water from the mushroom soak
1. Trim, wash, towel-dry, and slice the white mushrooms as described in Step 1 of the preceding recipe.
2. Choose a saute pan that can subsequently contain all the ingredients without crowding, put in the garlic and oil, and turn on the heat to medium. Cook and stir the garlic until it becomes colored a pale gold, then add the chopped parsley. Stir rapidly once or twice, add the chopped, reconstituted dried porcini, stir once or twice again to coat well, then add the filtered water from the porcini soak. Turn up the heat and cook at a lively pace until all the water has simmered away.
3. Add the sliced fresh mushrooms to the pan, together with salt and pepper, turn them over completely once or twice, turn the heat down to low, and cover the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 25 to 30 minutes, until the fresh mushrooms become very soft and dark. If, when they are done, the pan juices are still watery, uncover, raise the heat to high, and quickly boil them away. Transfer the contents of the pan to a warm platter, and serve at once.
Fresh Mushrooms with Porcini, Rosemary, and Tomatoes
For 4 to 6 servings
1 pound fresh, firm, white button OR cremini mushrooms
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
Chopped rosemary leaves, 1 teaspoon if fresh, ½ teaspoon if dried
A small packet OR 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted and cut up
The filtered water from the mushroom soak
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
½ cup canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
1. Trim, wash, and towel-dry the fresh mushrooms as described in Step 1 of this recipe. Cut them lengthwise in half, or if large, in quarters, keeping the caps attached to the stems.
2. Choose a saute pan that can subsequently contain all the ingredients loosely, put in the oil and garlic, and turn on the heat to medium high. Cook and stir the garlic until it becomes colored a pale gold, then add the rosemary and the chopped, reconstituted dried porcini. Stir once or twice again to coat well, then add the filtered water from the porcini soak. Turn the heat up and cook at a lively pace until all the water has simmered away.
3. Add the cut-up fresh mushrooms to the pan, together with salt and pepper, turn the heat up to high, and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid shed by the fresh mushrooms has simmered away.
4. Add the tomatoes with their juice, toss thoroughly to coat well, cover the pan, and turn the heat down to low. Cook for about 10 minutes. If while cooking there should not be sufficient liquid in the pan to keep the mushrooms from sticking to the bottom, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water, as needed. When done, transfer the contents of the pan to a warm platter and serve at once.
Fried Breaded Mushrooms, Tuscan Style
For 4 servings
¾ pound fresh, firm, white button OR cremini mushrooms
1 jumbo OR 2 smaller eggs
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1½ cups unflavored bread crumbs, lightly toasted, spread on a plate
Vegetable oil
Salt
1. Trim, wash, and towel-dry the mushrooms as described in Step 1 of this recipe. Cut them into lengthwise sections about ¾ inch thick, or into halves if they are very small, keeping the caps attached to the stems.
2. Break the eggs into a deep dish or small bowl, add a few grindings of pepper, and beat lightly with a fork.
3. Dip the mushroom pieces in the beaten egg, letting excess egg flow back into the dish, then dredge them in the bread crumbs, coating both sides.
4. Pour enough oil into a frying pan to come ½ inch up the sides. When you think the oil is quite hot, test it by dipping into it one of the mushroom sections. If it sizzles, the oil is ready for frying. Slip as many pieces into the pan as will fit loosely without overlapping. Cook until they form a crisp, golden brown crust on one side, then turn them and do the other side. When both sides are done, use a slotted spoon or spatula to transfer them to a cooling rack to drain or to a platter lined with paper towels. Repeat the procedure until all the mushrooms are done. Sprinkle with salt and serve at once.
Sautéed Shiitake Mushroom Caps, Porcini Style
WHEN THEIR CAPS are sautéed slowly in olive oil and garlic as described below, shiitake—better than other market mushrooms—develop a flavor reminiscent of the forest scent of fresh porcini.
For 4 servings as a main course, 6 to 8 as a side dish
2 pounds fresh shiitake mushrooms with large caps
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1. Detach the mushroom caps from the stems and discard the stems. Wash the caps quickly in running cold water without letting them soak. Pat dry gently, but thoroughly with a cloth towel.
2. Choose a skillet that can accommodate all the mushroom caps snugly, but without overlapping. (If necessary, use two pans, in which case increase the olive oil to ½ cup.) Coat the bottom of the pan with a few drops of olive oil, tilting the pan to spread it evenly. Put in the mushroom caps, top sides facing up, and turn on the heat to medium low.
3. After about 8 minutes, turn the caps over and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. When you find that the mushrooms have shed liquid, turn up the heat for as long as necessary to simmer the liquid away. When there are no more watery juices in the pan, turn the heat down again, sprinkle the caps with garlic and parsley, pour over them the remaining olive oil, and continue to cook for about 5 more minutes, until the mushrooms feel tender when prodded with a fork. Serve promptly with the oil, garlic, and parsley remaining in the pan.
Mushroom Timballo
A timballo is a traditional Italian mold, drum-like in shape. The name also applies to the dish cooked in that mold, and there are as many kinds of timballi as there are things that can be minced, sauced, and baked.
In this elegant and savory monument to the mushroom, the caps and stems are cooked separately. The caps are breaded and fried crisp, some are used to line the bottom of the mold, some to crown the timballo, and others in between. The stems, cooked with tomatoes and reconstituted dried porcini, are part of the filling, where they alternate with layers of fried caps and cheese.
For 6 to 8 servings
A small packet OR 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted
The filtered water from the mushroom soak
2 pounds fresh, firm, white button OR cremini mushrooms with good-size, tightly closed caps
2 eggs
Unflavored bread crumbs, lightly toasted, spread on a plate
1¼ cups vegetable oil
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon garlic chopped fine
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
½ cup canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, drained and chopped fine
A 1-quart ceramic soufflé mold
Butter for smearing the mold
½ pound imported fontina or Gruyère cheese, sliced thin
½ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1. Put the reconstituted mushrooms and their filtered water in a small saucepan, and turn on the heat to medium. When all the liquid has simmered away, take
off heat and set aside for later.
2. Wash the fresh mushrooms quickly under cold running water, separate the caps from the stems, and pat both thoroughly dry with a soft cloth towel.
3. To even off and flatten the bottoms of the caps, cut off a thin slice straight across their base. These slices will look like rings. Cut them in two and set aside, leaving the caps whole. Cut the stems lengthwise into the thinnest possible slices, and set them aside, combining them with the slices cut from the bottom of the caps.
4. Break the eggs into a deep dish and beat them lightly with a fork. Dip the mushroom caps in the egg, letting the excess flow back into the dish as you pull them out. Turn them in the bread crumbs, coating them all over, and tapping the crumbs with your fingers against the mushrooms to make them stick firmly.
5. When all the caps have been breaded, put half the vegetable oil in a small frying pan, and turn on the heat to medium high. When the oil is hot, slip the caps into the pan, no more at one time than will fit very loosely. When they have formed a fine, golden crust on one side, turn them, do the other side, then transfer them to a cooling rack to drain or to a platter lined with paper towels. After you have done half the caps, the oil in the pan will probably have turned black from the bread crumbs. Turn off the heat, carefully pour out the hot oil into whatever container you keep waste oil in, and wipe the pan clean with paper towels. Put in the remaining vegetable oil, turn the heat on again to medium high, and finish frying the caps.
6. Preheat oven to 350°.
7. Put the olive oil and the garlic in a saute pan, and turn on the heat to medium. Cook and stir the garlic until it becomes colored a pale gold, then put in the sliced mushroom stems and the chopped parsley. Turn the heat up to medium high, and cook for about 5 minutes, turning the mushrooms over frequently.
8. Add the cooked, reconstituted porcini mushrooms, a few pinches of salt, and several grindings of pepper. Stir once or twice, then put in the chopped tomatoes. Continue cooking, stirring from time to time, until the oil floats free of the tomatoes. Taste and correct for salt and pepper, and take off heat.
9. Smear the bottom of the souffle dish with butter, and cover it with a layer of the fried mushroom caps, their bottoms (the underside) facing up. Sprinkle with salt, cover with a layer of sliced fontina or Gruyère, spread over it some of the mushroom stems and tomato mixture, then top with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan. Repeat the procedure in the same sequence, beginning with a layer of mushroom caps. Leave yourself enough mushroom caps to top the timballo, their bottoms always facing up. They will be facing right side up later, after you invert the timballo.
10. Place the dish in the upper third of the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes.
11. Let the dish settle out of the oven for 10 minutes, then run a knife all around the sides of the mold to loosen the timballo. Put a dinner plate, bottom up, over the top of the mold. Grasp the plate and mold with a towel, holding them together tightly, and turn the mold upside down. Lift the mold away to leave the timballo standing on the plate. Let cool another 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Ahead-of-time note You can prepare the timballo up to this point several hours in advance. Warm up the mushroom stems and tomatoes slightly before proceeding with the next step.
Sweet and Sour Onions
THE SECRET INGREDIENT in this delectable combination of tartness and sweetness is merely the patience it takes to nurse the onions through an hour or more of slow simmering. The actual preparation couldn’t be simpler. If you can put it on while you are producing something else in the kitchen, you will find it well worth the time it demands, because there are few other vegetable dishes that please so many palates and that are a becoming adornment to so large a variety of meats and fowl.
For 6 servings
3 pounds small white boiling onions
4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter
2½. tablespoons good-quality wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil, drop in the onions, count to 15, then drain them. As soon as they are cool enough to handle, pull off the outside skin, detach any roots, and cut a cross into the butt end. Do not peel off any of the layers, do not trim the tops, handle the onions as little as possible so that they will remain compact and hold together during their long cooking.
2. Choose a saute pan that can contain all the onions snugly, but without overlapping. Put in the onions, butter, enough water to come no more than 1 inch up the sides of the pan, and turn the heat on to medium. Turn the onions from time to time as they cook, adding 2 tablespoons of water whenever the liquid in the pan becomes insufficient.
3. In 20 minutes or so, when the onions begin to soften, add the vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper, give the onions one or two complete turns, and turn the heat down to low. Continue to cook for 1 hour or more, adding a tablespoon or two of water whenever it becomes necessary. Turn the onions from time to time. They are done when they become colored a rich, dark, golden brown all over, and are easily pierced when prodded with a fork. Serve promptly with all the pan juices.
Ahead-of-time note Although the onions taste their best when cooked just before serving, they can be completely done several hours in advance. Reheat over slow heat adding 1 or 2 tablespoons of water if needed.
Sautéed Early Peas with Olive Oil and Prosciutto, Florentine Style
For 4 to 6 servings
2 pounds unshelled fresh, young peas OR 1 ten-ounce package frozen tiny peas, thawed
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons prosciutto OR for a less salty taste, pancetta, diced into ¼-inch cubes
2 tablespoons parsley chopped very fine
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
Salt
1. If using fresh peas: Shell them, and prepare some of the pods for cooking by stripping away their inner membrane, as described. Try to do about 1 cup of pods.
If using frozen peas: Proceed to the next step.
2. Put the garlic and the olive oil in a saute pan, and turn on the heat to medium high. Cook and stir the garlic until it has become colored a light nut-brown, then take it out, and add the diced prosciutto or pancetta. Stir quickly 5 or 6 times, then put in the fresh peas with their stripped-down pods or the thawed frozen peas, and turn them over completely once or twice to coat well. Add the parsley and a few grindings of pepper, and, if you are using fresh peas, ¼ cup water. Turn the heat down to medium and put a lid on the pan. If using frozen peas, cook for 5 minutes.
If using fresh peas, it may take from 15 to 30 minutes, depending entirely on their youth and freshness. If the liquid in the pan becomes insufficient, replenish with 1 or 2 tablespoons water as needed. When the peas are done, there should be no water left in the pan. Should the pan juices be watery when the peas are cooked, uncover, turn up the heat, and simmer them away.
Taste and correct for salt, stir well, then turn the entire contents of the pan onto a warm platter and serve at once.
Mashed Potatoes with Milk and Parmesan Cheese, Bolognese Style
For 4 to 6 servings
1 pound round, waxy, old boiling potatoes
A double boiler
3 tablespoons butter, cut up small
¼ cup milk or more if needed
⅓ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
Salt
Whole nutmeg
1. Put the unpeeled potatoes in a large saucepan, add enough water to cover amply, put a lid on the pot, bring to a moderate boil, and cook until the potatoes feel tender when prodded with a fork. Refrain from puncturing them too often, or they will become waterlogged. Drain and peel while still hot.
2. Put water in the lower half of a double boiler and bring it to a simmer. Put the butter in the upper half of the pot. Mash the potatoes through a food mill or a potato ricer directly onto the butter.
3. Put the milk in a small saucepan and bring it almost to a boil—to the point when it begins to form tiny, pearly bubbles. Take it off heat before it breaks into a boil.
4. Begin beating the potatoes steadily with a whisk, or a fork, adding to them 2 or 3 tablespoons of hot milk at a time. When you have used half the milk, beat in all the grated Parmesan. When you have incorporated the cheese smoothly into the potatoes, resume adding milk. Do not cease to beat, unless you must rest your arm occasionally for a few seconds.
The potatoes must turn into a very soft, fluffy mass, a state that requires constant beating and as much milk as the potatoes will absorb before becoming thin and runny. Some potatoes absorb less milk than others: You must judge, by appearance and taste, when you have put in enough.
5. When there is no milk left, or you have determined that no more can be absorbed by the potatoes, add salt to taste and a tiny grating of nutmeg—about ⅛ teaspoon—swirling to distribute both evenly. Spoon the mashed potatoes onto a warm plate and serve at once.
Ahead-of-time note If you are really prevented from serving the mashed potatoes the moment they are done, when they are at their best, you can finish them up to 1 hour in advance. When ready to serve, reheat over simmering water in the double boiler, beating in 2 or 3 tablespoons of very hot milk.
If you are making one of the croquette recipes that follow, you can make them several hours or a full day in advance.
Potato Croquettes with Crisp-Fried Noodles
WHEN TINY BALLS of mashed potatoes are fried with a coating of crumbled thin noodles, they look like some kind of thistle. The contrast between the crisp noodle surface and soft potato interior makes the croquettes as appealing in taste as in appearance.
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking Page 57