Want a gourmet experience this weekend? Try these 3 exotic dried mushroom recipes

This upcoming weekend, whip up some unique, flavour-loaded, delicious gourmet dishes and show your culinary finesse. These unique dishes are perfect for the weekend, whether you want to treat yourself or impress your friends and family at an impromptu get-together. With just a bit of effort, you can bring elite restaurant-style cooking to your home kitchen and leave yourself patting your own shoulder while your guests swoon over every bite and ask for the recipes. Want to make elevated dishes that are fancy but fuss-free and doable at home this weekend? Then dried mushrooms are your golden ticket to exotic flavour town.

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Chef Harshit Moza, Brand Sous Chef, Espressos Anyday, Bright Hospitality, shared with us three savoury dried mushroom recipes. The recipes feature fancy mushroom types: morels, the earthy Kashmiri variant (called Gucchi in Kashmiri), Porcini, the rich and nutty Italian kind, and Shiitake, the one with the smoky flavours.

Here are the three recipes Chef Harshit Moza shared:

Morel Pasta

Ingredients (Serves 2):

• Dried Morels- 60g
• Butter- 50g
• Onion- ½
• Garlic-2 cloves
• White wine-1 cup
• Heavy cream-200g
• Parsley-1 tsp
• Tarragon-1 tsp
• Chives-1 tsp
• Parmesan cheese-80g
• Tagliatelle- 400g
• Salt- as per taste
• Pepper-as per taste

Method:

• Rehydrate morels in hot water, strain, and save the stock for later.
• Sauté onions, garlic and morels in a pan with some butter.
• Deglaze with white wine, and cook the wine.
• Add equal parts of cream and stock we saved earlier.
• Boil tagliatelle in a separate pot till al dente.
• Add the tagliatelle to the sauce and toss.
• Kill the heat and add parmesan cheese and pasta water if needed.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Finish with fresh chopped tarragon, parsley and chives (fine herbs).

Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients (Serves 2):

• arnaroli rice- 160g
• Onion- ½
• White wine-1 cup
• Mushroom stock- 4 cups
• Pecorino Romano-120g
• Mascarpone cheese- 60g
• Butter- 60g
• Dried Shiitake-20g

Dried Porcini- 50g

• Salt- as per taste
• Pepper-as per taste

Method:

• Put dried shiitake and porcini in boiling water and boil them for 15 minutes.
• Strain, save the stock, which is the foundation for the risotto.
• Finely chop the onion and drench it with extra virgin olive oil in a pan until translucent.
• Add carnaroli rice and toast it until you see a white spot in the middle of the rice grains.
• Deglaze the pan with white wine and flush the rice completely with wine.
• Cook the wine completely, and gradually add mushroom stock.
• Keep stirring the risotto to build up enough starch and cook it for 15–18 minutes.
• Kill the heat, add butter, Pecorino Romano, mascarpone cheese and stir until well combined.
• In a separate pan, sear the rehydrated mushrooms on high heat with vegetable oil and season at the very end, so that it does not lose a lot of moisture and mushrooms start steaming.
• Season the risotto with salt and pepper.
• Plate the risotto in a flat pasta bowl, top it with seared mushrooms and some grated Pecorino Romano.

Wild mushroom soup

Ingredients (Serves 4):

• Dried morels-80g
• Butter-100g
• Onion- ½
• Celery – 1 stick
• Leek-1 stick
• Button mushrooms-250g
• Cremini mushrooms-250g
• Flour-50g
• Sherry vinegar-20g
• Salt- as per taste
• Pepper-as per taste
• Tarragon-2 tsp
• Parsley-2 tsp
• Chives-2 tsp

Method:

• Rehydrate morels in hot water, strain, and save the stock for later.
• Finely chop onions, leeks, and celery and sauté in a pot with half the butter.
• Add roughly cut button mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, and morels into the pot and sauté. Add sherry vinegar to cut through the fat.
• Add in the remaining butter and flour to make a blonde roux (cook the flour until it is golden brown).
• Add in the mushroom stock and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes.
• To finish, add cream and freshly chopped parsley, tarragon, and chives.
• Serve hot.

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