This story begins a few years ago, on an ordinary shopping trip to our regular grocer. I wandered over to the mushroom section, one of my favorite corners of the store because everything is sold loose, letting you choose exactly what you want. That’s when I spotted a mushroom I didn’t recognize. Curious, I asked the grocer what variety it was.
“Porcini,” he said, with the kind of enthusiasm reserved for truly special ingredients. He explained that fresh porcini mushrooms are prized for their sweet, subtle, almost nutty flavor, nothing like the everyday mushrooms we usually find wrapped in plastic.
I didn’t buy any that day. I wasn’t sure how to prepare them, and I wanted to do them justice. But he assured me that porcini season, late spring into early summer, would bring them back regularly.
Years Later… Still No Porcini
Fast‑forward three or four years. I spotted a sign for porcini mushrooms at another grocer, and this time I was ready. Or so I thought. Every time I asked if any were left, the answer was the same: “We sold out yesterday.”
On one visit, I learned that a single customer had bought all ninety pounds that had arrived the day before. Ninety pounds! Clearly, I wasn’t the only one who understood how special these mushrooms were.
I still hadn’t asked the price, but I did ask the store to call me when their next shipment arrived from Vancouver. And they did. I went straight to the mushroom section… only to find the porcini bin empty again.
Finally, Fresh Wild Porcini Mushrooms…
But this time, luck was on my side. Once I explained that I’d received a call, the store manager appeared with a brown paper bag holding about two pounds of fresh wild porcini. I selected roughly one pound, and when the cashier’s eyes widened like saucers, I realized just how extravagant this purchase truly was.
Why I Wanted Them So Much…
My obsession started years earlier after watching an episode of Beat Bobby Flay. One of the contestants made the simplest, most beautiful dish using fresh porcini. Pan‑fried wild porcini served with crème fraîche and an herb‑butter vinaigrette. I wrote down every detail, how he sliced them, how he cooked them, how he served them. Ever since, I’d been waiting for the chance to recreate it.
And now, finally, here we are.
The Three‑Part Porcini Recipe Series…
That one pound of mushrooms blossomed into three separate porcini recipes, each one different, each one special, and each one celebrating the flavor of fresh wild porcini.
And here we are:
Sautéed Wild Porcini Mushrooms, Créme Fraîche and Sherry Herb Butter
And then the 2nd of the trio….
And last but not least, to complete the trio…..
Seared Sea Scallops with Fresh Wild Porcini Rissoto
One pound of poricini mushrooms, three phenominal meals for two people!
