Classic Creamy Porcini Mushroom Sauce
An easy recipe for a delicious creamy porcini sauce cooked with dry or fresh porcini mushrooms.
EQUIPMENT
- 1 saucepan or skillet
INGREDIENTS
- 350 g porcini mushrooms (or 35 g of dry porcini)
- 250 ml heavy cream
- 70 ml white wine
- 30 g butter
- 30 ml olive oil
- 5 g salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp marjoram (dry)
- fresh parsley
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INSTRUCTIONS
- When using dried porcini, soak them in hot water for around 15 minutes until they soften completely. Drain well before cooking, but keep the soaking liquid.
- If cooking with fresh porcini, clean them carefully without rinsing them in water. Brush off any forest debris (bits of soil, leaves, or pine needles) with your hands or a soft brush.
- Slice the porcini thinly. Finely chop the onion and either slice or crush the garlic. The finer you chop them, the creamier and smoother your sauce will be later.
- Warm up a mix of olive oil and butter in a wide skillet or pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook slowly over medium-low heat until soft, golden, and fragrant. This step takes a few minutes but sets the base for a silky sauce. When ready, stir in the sliced mushrooms.
- Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a pinch of marjoram. Stir the mixture for a minute to help the mushrooms release their aroma, then pour in the wine.
- Lower the heat and let it simmer gently for three to four minutes. The porcini will shrink, and their flavors will concentrate as the wine cooks down and the alcohol evaporates.
- Pour in the cream and mix well so it combines evenly with the mushrooms. Continue cooking over low heat for another five minutes, just until the sauce thickens slightly. Stir in the chopped parsley right at the end.
- Serve the porcini sauce warm and glossy - that’s when it’s at its best. It pairs beautifully with pasta, gnocchi, rice, meat, or even roasted vegetables. Once it cools, the consistency will change, so enjoy it fresh while the sauce is still soft and creamy.
NOTES
Fresh porcini act like sponges and quickly absorb water, so it’s best to use them the same day if you’ve picked them after rain. Clean them right in the forest if possible, gently brushing off leaves, soil, and pine needles. It keeps them in good shape and helps spread the spores.
Dried porcini from the store are often made from older mushrooms that didn’t sell because of their age or not-so-cute look. These will give your sauce a thicker texture and a darker color, but the flavor will be even richer and stronger.
Slice the onions and garlic finely and let them soften slowly on low heat until golden. If they start browning too fast, add a spoonful of water. Slow cooking here makes the sauce velvety and smooth.
The sauce should cling lightly to the spoon (smooth and glossy), but still be pourable. If it gets too thick, it will stay tasty, but won’t coat pasta or gnocchi as evenly.
Porcini sauce is at its best right after cooking. Once cooled, it tends to thicken and darken a bit, losing that silky shine. Enjoy it fresh from the pan while it's still runny.
The sauce needs to be refrigerated within two hours of cooking. You can safely warm it over low heat, but avoid doing it more than once.
To enjoy it all year round, it’s better to store the mushrooms themselves instead of the sauce. You can rehydrate, blanch, and freeze them, or grind them into powder. This way, you’ll always have the best-tasting sauce.
NUTRITION
Serving: 159g | Calories: 359kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 552mg | Potassium: 210mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1116IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 0.4mg