The Pleasures of Porcini | Civil Eats

The Pleasures of Porcini

Each year, after the summer sun has warmed us through and rain has once again begun to fall, my friend Charlie shows up in my office with a paper bag. It’s one of my favorite moments of the year, and I’m never quite sure exactly when it’s coming. Charlie is a mycologist with a generous streak—he studies truffles (another wild Oregonian favorite) but makes an annual foray for Boletus Edulis, and brings a trove of these meaty, beautiful mushrooms to share.

They are always impressive examples of the badisiomycete, giant and symmetrical, their swollen stems neatly trimmed and tawny caps brushed clean of needles and soil. Charlie calls them Porcini, as the Italians do, after the roly-poly piglet shape of their young fruiting bodies. His scientist cohort in this country calls them King Boletes. The French call them Cepes, after their fat stem. At my house, we call them risotto. We sauté them in butter and thyme, serve them atop bowls of creamy rice cooked in broth and wine, and savor every silky, nutty bite.

It’s a lovely consolation for the onset of rain, when our valley turns from sun-parched yellow grasses, thickets of blackberries and postcard-blue sky to thick mats of damp leaves and dripping needles, banks of fog, glittering lakes of flooded fields. There’s something about that rain that stirs the forest to action, and sends raincoated searchers like Charlie into the woods for mushrooms. Boletes are mycorryhzal, living in symbiotic tandem with pine trees. They feed one another, when their seasons come.

These wild indicators of the change of season, all bulbous and tawny-capped, are a lovely consolation for giving up the abundant lettuces and peppers and eggplants of summer. It’s as if nature is offering up a little reward for all of our hard work in the summer garden, saying yes, it’s cooler, and wet, and your tomatoes won’t ripen any more. But here, a gift, untended. Just enjoy them, pick them carefully, and come back next year. We’ll be here.

Porcini Risotto

2 quarts chicken or vegetable (but not store-bought mushroom) stock
4 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small shallot, minced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 oz dried porcini (optional)
3/4 cup white wine
1/2 pound fresh porcini, brushed clean and sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
2 tbs fresh thyme, minced
salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, warm up the stock over medium heat until it’s boiling. In a separate heavy-bottomed, non-reactive saucepan, heat the oil and 2 tbs of the butter over medium-high heat until the butter’s melted. Add the shallots and garlic and saute lightly, stirring constantly. Add the rice and toast, stirring constantly so it doesn’t brown. After 3 minutes or so, reduce the heat to medium low and add the dried porcini and wine. Add the hot stock, a ladle-full at a time, stirring so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom and the liquid is absorbed evenly. Continue to add stock and stir every few minutes until the rice is cooked through and creamy, about 30 minutes.

We’ll bring the news to you.

Get the weekly Civil Eats newsletter, delivered to your inbox.

In the meantime, saute the fresh porcini with the thyme and remaining butter, over medium low heat. The mushrooms will release their liquids, and keep cooking them, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reabsorbed and the mushrooms are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

When the rice is cooked, serve with the sauteed fresh porcini on top.

Serves 4.

Editor’s Note: I made this risotto last night, and it was delicious.

Photo: Valtaro Photo

Today’s food system is complex.

Invest in nonprofit journalism that tells the whole story.

Jessica MacMurray Blaine is a food writer based in Eugene, Oregon, where she also occasionally teaches magazine writing at the University of Oregon. She is the marketing & communications director for Marche, a restaurant group focused on seasonal, sustainable, regional food. Read more >

Like the story?
Join the conversation.

  1. Emily H.
    I thought this was just beautifully written. And I am incredibly envious of the porcini giftee.

More from

General

Featured

‘It’s Impossible Not to Feel Like I’m Part of the Flock’

In an excerpt from her new book, ‘Under the Henfluence,’ Tove Danovich discusses her ongoing fascination with chickens and the challenge of reconciling the backyard trend with today’s industrial practices.

Popular

The IPCC’s Latest Climate Report Is a Final Alarm for Food Systems, Too

PAJARO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 14: In an aerial view, floodwaters fill the streets on March 14, 2023 in Pajaro, California. Northern California has been hit by another atmospheric river that has brought heavy rains and flooding throughout the region. The town has been inundated with floodwaters since Saturday after a levee was breached along the Pajaro River. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

This Farm Bill Really Matters. We Explain Why.

a trio of illustrations showing a black farmer, corn growing in front of the US Capitol Building, and a white woman with a baby paying for groceries with a SNAP-enabled card

Supreme Court Case Could Reshape Indigenous Water Rights in the Southwest

A close-up view of center-pivot irrigation watering corn on NAPI farmland. (Photo courtesy of NAPI)

All Eyes on California as Fast-Food Worker Rights Land on the 2024 Ballot

Fast-food workers and activists protest McDonald's labor practices outside a McDonald's restaurant on March 18, 2014 in Oakland, California. (Photo credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)