Flavors Flavors (December 10, 2004)

Porcini stuffing

By Robert Rich

The winter holidays coincide with wild mushroom season in northern California. Holiday cooking provides opportunities to dream up the most luxurious uses for such delectable wild food.

Porcinis (Boletus edulus) are my favorite among coastal mushrooms, but they can be very hard to find in the wild. Luckily, they appear fresh this season at the Mountain View Farmers Market ($18/lb), or frozen at Trader Joe's ($8/lb, a bargain).

This stuffing for turkey or goose uses Boletus edulis in two ways. First, the croutons come from specially baked porcini bread, then you add fresh porcinis to the stuffing. The flavors are earthy and intense.

If you wish to skip the bread recipe, try substituting 4 to 5 cups of commercial croutons and add more fresh mushrooms, garlic and herbs to the final blend.
For the crouton bread:

1/4 cup dried porcinis, crushed fine

2 1/4 cups bread flour

1 tblsp. sugar

1 tblsp. powdered milk

1 tsp. salt

1 1/8 cup water

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. white pepper

1 tblsp. tarragon (fresh, chopped fine)

1 tsp. yeast

This recipe works in a bread machine, normal cycle. Or, knead the ingredients together, let the dough rise for an hour, punch down and shape, then let it rise again for another hour. Bake 50 minutes in preheated 350 F oven. Cube, dry overnight, then re-toast for croutons 30 minutes or until crisp.
For the stuffing:

4-5 cups croutons, see above

3 cups celery, finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

8-12 oz chopped fresh porcini

1 cup chestnuts or almonds, chopped

1/2 cup melted butter

1 tblsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. salt (or less, to taste)

1 tsp. fresh ground pepper

3 tblsp. dried parsley

2 tsp. dry oregano

1 tblsp. powdered sage

1 tblsp. powdered tarragon

Place croutons in a large mixing bowl, add melted butter and stir. Add remaining ingredients, stir and adjust to taste.

For use as a side dish (as opposed to stuffing inside a bird), add 1 cup chicken stock, place in a covered casserole and bake at 350 F for one hour before serving.

E-mail Robert Rich at flavors@rrich.com

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