Mushrooms for autumn

Mushrooms are one of those food staples that turn up just about anywhere and everywhere in Italian cooking.
Add them to a vegetable sauté for extra flavour, colour and texture, simmer them in soups, stews, sauces and polentas, or use them to decorate a pizza or serve them alongside meat or fish dishes.
The most prized and popular Italian mushrooms are cremini, porcini and portobello.
Cremini mushrooms have a rich brown skin, creamy tan flesh, and a dense, earthy flavour.
For best results, select plump, unbruised cremini and store (unwashed) in paper towels or a plastic bag in a counter rather than the refrigerator.
As with any mushrooms, cremini should not be washed. Simply wipe with a damp paper towel or scrub dirt off with a mushroom brush.
Cremini can be paired with portobello mushrooms in a pasta dish, or they can be stuffed with a mixture of bread crumbs, olive oil, egg, Parmesan cheese and finely chopped onions.
Because they are sturdy and dense, cremini work well in a variety of pasta dishes. They are a good match in a spaghetti dish that includes garlic, parsley, sage, garlic cloves, olive oil, parsley and Parmesan cheese.
With their distinguishing shape and meaty texture, porcini mushrooms are a hit in Italian cuisine and are considered one of the finest-tasting of all fungi. In fact, porcini, which means “little piglets,” are considered one of the most prized varieties of mushrooms. It’s no surprise they are the most expensive, but a little goes a long way toward enhancing your cooking needs.
Porcini mushrooms grow all over Italy, but the best are found near the Apennines and in Emilia-Romagna. They come in a variety of types and qualities, but the best of the best have a light-coloured cap and are grown in chestnut woods. The most prized have big, round and fleshy hats and short, round stalks.
Whether they are raised, grilled or baked, these tasty little mushrooms are commonly preserved in oil or dried for winter into pastes and powder.
These little delicacies work deliciously well in risotto, alongside minced shallots, dry, white wine, hot chicken stock, salt, butter, Parmesan, and ground pepper and salt to taste.
Grilled polenta with porcini mushrooms can work as a main course or a side dish. And there’s very little to it. In a heavy pot, bring water, unsalted butter, bay leaves, coarse salt and olive oil together over medium heat. Slowly begin to sift cornmeal into the pan. You can pour the meal through your fingers to sift, and then stir constantly with wooden spoon or whisk. Continue sifting and stirring until all of the meal is in the pan, then reduce heat to medium low. Continue to stir until the polenta thickens and pulls away from the sides of the pan as it is stirred. This should take about about 30 minutes. Fish out and discard the bay leaves, and pour the polenta into a sheet pan. Spread evenly with a spatula, and cover with plastic wrap. Cool completely in the refrigerator. Cut the polenta into segments. Lightly brush the polenta slices with olive oil and set them on a hot grill. Grill four to five minutes on each side. Top with grilled porcini. To grill the mushrooms, simply marinate in a mixture containing crushed garlic cloves, extra-virgin olive oil, parsley and salt and pepper to taste.
Portobello mushrooms are the big brothers of cremini mushrooms. Once the little brown cremini grows past five inches in diameter, it is deemed to be a portobello.
In northern Italy this mushroom is known as “capellone,” meaning big hat, a reference to the fungi’s large, juicy cap.
Portobello mushrooms are popular because they are circular, flat, long, and dense, with a chewy and meaty texture. In fact, these large mushrooms are a good substitute for a meat dish. They are delicious when roasted or grilled and they’re good companions for polenta and pasta dishes, or as toppings for meat sauces or salads. Mix them with colourful veggies like red and green peppers for a lovely side dish.
Portobello mushrooms can hold up against long strands of pasta, particularly linguine. For a satisfying autumn dish, combine the mushrooms with the pasta and extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh oregano, basil and rosemary, crushed garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.