Fall is here. And from a cooking perspective, I am ready.
I fought with my Weber gas grill this summer and of course, I blame the grill. We had our share of overdone chicken breasts and boneless pork chops. I managed to turn beautiful halibut steaks into fish hash and set cedar planks on fire with the salmon already on them. Our grill cooks very fast and hot and now, at summer’s end, everything seems to taste the same to me. It’s time to come inside and celebrate fall.
Italian cooks are known for celebrating the seasons and focusing on whatever food is at its absolute best at the time. Fall in Italy is harvest time in the vineyards. But it is also the season for digging mushrooms, especially the prized porcinis. Found in the damp, still-warm soil of the forest, porcini means “little pig” in Italian, so called because of its fat stem.
While cooks in southern Italy are still gathering the last ruby red tomatoes from the vine, those in the northern Piedmont region are having a love affair with mushrooms. I am always amazed how the Italians can take just one vegetable and find so many ways to serve it. Mushrooms, especially porcinis, are sautéed and broiled, stuffed, cooked with meats, used in risottos and pastas and simmered with cream.
When I was young, my parents traveled to New York City for a little holiday and went to their favorite Italian restaurant. Afterwards, my mother told me that their waiter, Giovanni, came to their table and presented her with a basket of fresh porcini mushrooms. He said to her “Signora, these were flown in from Italy this morning.” I no longer remember how they cooked them, but my mother had no choice but to order them and was, as the story goes, thrilled.
I have never found fresh porcini mushrooms here. Specialty stores sell the dried ones, and they are easy to re-constitute in hot boiling water. But other varieties of full-flavored, fresh mushrooms, like shiitakes, chanterelles and creminis, can now be found in supermarkets, and these make a fine substitute for expensive porcinis.
The recipe that follows is from Lidia Bastianich (the famed Italian cook and restaurateur) and her “Pasta Calendar.” It calls for not much more than pasta and mushrooms and is perfect for an October night. Because the ingredients are simple, use the best ones you can find, like real Parmesan Reggiano, good green olive oil and imported pasta. Lidia uses porcinis, but there is no need to go foraging in the woods or pay a king’s ransom for them. Use whatever kind you like.
Pappardelle with Mushrooms
- In a large skillet (try to use one that is NOT non-stick), sauté a pound of trimmed and sliced mushrooms and several crushed garlic cloves in several tablespoons of olive oil. Do this in two batches, adding more oil as you go to avoid crowding the mushrooms and having them “steam.” Use moderately high heat so the mushrooms brown.
- Place the first batch of mushrooms on a plate and brown the remaining one. Discard the garlic when you are finished.
- Then place all the browned mushrooms back into the skillet along with 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter and a handful of chopped Italian parsley.
- Add ¾ cup chicken stock or canned broth (use low sodium if you can) and simmer for 1 minute. Adjust salt and pepper to your taste.
- Toss with a pound of pappardelle pasta (very wide ribbons). If you can’t find them, wide fettuccini noodles will do fine.
- Sprinkle liberally with freshly grated Parmesan and serve.
Lidia’s recipe doesn’t call for it, but a few sprinkles of Marsala wine, cognac or Vin Santo really give a nice kick to the sautéing mushrooms. A crisp green salad goes well with this pasta.
I suppose next summer I will make up with my Weber gas grill. But, for now, I am so glad to eat something that doesn’t taste like teriyaki.
