The King of Mushrooms

Earlier this week, I made my way over to Chelsea Market. Home to the Food Network offices and studios, the ground floor of the building is a true market with bakeries, pastry shops, a wine merchant, grocery stores and more. My favourite spot is BuonItalia, an authetic Italian specialty foods shop that offers a great selection of cheeses, cured meats, and other imported grocery items.

I walked away with a bag of dried porcini mushrooms.

Porcini (translation: piglet) are known to be the king of all mushrooms. They are meaty and offer an intense nutty flavor. When they are dried their flavour is magnified, becoming almost pungent (I equate their scent to fish food). To say the least, a little goes a very long way.

I decided to use these little piggies in tonight’s dinner - a mushroom (portobello and porcini) and spinach risotto. After several days in Boston (a yummy town, which I’ll post about shortly) all we wanted was a comforting home-cooked meal.

Risotto isn't a quick dish to make, requiring the cook to stand on guard, constantly stirring the mixture and ladling in just enough broth, until ready. But, tonight it was all worth it - it was indulgently thick and creamy, and the porcini added an incredible punch of flavour. We paired it with a glass of Montepulciano and chatted about our recent trip. Ahhhh, home.