Off to the mushrooms: addictive factor for bland broths

Now quickly get out into the woods! One of the best edible mushrooms is still in season before the frost and cold kill it: the porcini mushroom. I like it not only because of its delicate taste, but especially because of the wonderfully firm consistency that gives it its name. Most people probably also value it because it is easy to recognize and thus avoid poisoning.

The classic porcini mushroom dishes are of course risotto, potato soup and pasta. But I prefer to eat porcini mushrooms lightly fried in slices on a soft scrambled egg with a piece of sourdough bread. Sliced ​​thinly, with a little oil, salt and pepper, they also make a tasty carpaccio.

I don't want to use the buzzword "umami" too much, but mushrooms have plenty of natural glutamate and give a bland broth the addictive factor that keeps you hooked on spooning it. Only shiitake tops porcini mushrooms. You can also make pure porcini mushroom soup with some onions, garlic and saffron. Pour in vegetable broth and season with crème fraîche and herbs.

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For everyone who is now yawning from boredom, I have a porcini mushroom jam in my repertoire that goes particularly well with game. To do this, I take finely diced mushrooms, sweat them with onions and garlic, deglaze everything with a little red wine, add brown sugar, a bay leaf, a little apple cider vinegar, salt, mustard seeds, thyme, rosemary and a little salt, simmer everything and let it cool.

If even that is too boring for you, I recommend a quiche with goat cheese and porcini mushrooms - made from puff pastry or classic shortcrust pastry. The braised mushrooms are added to the dough pan, mixed with a little goat cheese. Add a sprig of thyme or rosemary, a pinch of paprika, salt and pepper, and then bake briefly over medium heat until the quiche is golden brown.

If you want to keep all options open, clean the mushrooms (without water), cut them into slices, thread them on a thread and let them dry. Pureed into powder, this creates the secret ingredient mentioned above for every sauce imaginable.

You can also reactivate the slices in a little water and use them, for example, to make a mushroom goulash, with lots of onions, a little garlic, caraway and ground paprika, lemon juice and thyme, pepper and salt. At the end I add a cup of sour cream, decorate everything with flat-leaf parsley and make bread dumplings as a side dish. Delicious! Bon appetit.