If ever there was magic in my kitchen cupboard it is in the jars, buckets and sealed bags of of dried mushrooms. No ingredient could look less promising and yet, when brought to life by a 10-minute soak in warm water, those little funghi have so much to offer.
Slices of dried porcini are expensive to buy. You can expect to pay about £3 for a 30g jar, but fortunately they are like death duties – the only people who need to pay for them are those who choose to. They are free for those that want to look.
Chefs such as Nigel Slater and Delia Smith recommend bulking up this fantastic ingredient with chestnut mushrooms. The flavour comes from the wild fungi, the texture from the much blander cultivated species. To use dried mushrooms, simply steep in near-boiling water for about 15 minutes. Quicker and less salty than most dried bouillons, the clear stock they produce is the very essence of the forest floor. This glowing bronze liquor can be used in a risotto with thyme and butter, or as a pure, bright soup whose amber depths will nourish us on a frosty night.
Most recipes suggest using 30g, 40g or 50g, but this is only because they tend to be commercially packaged in such quantities. Personally? I just have a huge kilner jar full of dried mushrooms in the kitchen cupboard and when I want to boost a casserole, risotto or soup, I either fill a mug with slivers and pour on hot water or toss a handful in the dish.
The rehydrated mushrooms have precious little flavour or texture in themselves, but the stock which seeps out (and resembles strong Indian builder’s tea) is full of the essence of the forest floor.
Slater suggests a pinch will add weight to a chicken stock or charm to a mushroom tart or ragout, but he believes it is a mistake to construct a risotto based solely on mushroom stock – he thinks it needs a little chicken or pork too to give the right texture, consistency and to tame the power of the porcini. .
