Fettucini with Hedgehog Mushrooms

The amazing taste of this dish will blow you away and you will be surprised just how simple it is to make.The hardest part of making this dish is going to your grocery store, Buying fresh pasta, and hedgehog mushrooms. Come dinner time, all you have to do is boil the noodles and saute the mushrooms
I made this dish with hedgehog mushrooms, which have a rich and buttery taste and are a little less pricey than shiitake mushrooms and have a later season.
I can tell you that it isn't a question of fresh or dried pasta being better. They are just different, and each goes best with a certain sauces. Fresh pasta is especially well suites to cream sauces, and you can think of a big dollop of fresh ricotta as the world's simplest cream sauce.
If you can't find the time to make your own pasta at home you should have no problem finding fresh pasta at most farmer's markets, or in the refrigerator section of a good grocer. The quality of the grocery store stuff varies, so you might have to experiment to find a brand you like.



Fettucini with Hedgehog Mushrooms

• 1 pound fresh fettucini noodles
• 1 pound mushrooms (hedgehog, chanterelle, shiitake, king oyster… probably not standard white buttons)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• zest of one lemon, Meyer if possible
• sea salt
• ground black pepper

1. Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Clean, trim and slice the mushrooms. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Saute the mushrooms until tender and browning, about 8 minutes. During the saute you may need to adjust the heat so that the butter isn't burning.
3. Boil the pasta, either according to package directions or until it is al dente. Fresh pasta doesn't take as long as dried, usually just a few minutes. Taste a bite frequently, and stop the moment it is done.
4. Drain the pasta and toss with the remaining tablespoon of butter.
5. To serve, divide the pasta among 4 bowls and top with the mushrooms, lemon zest, more salt, and a good grind of black pepper.

Grow Porcini Mushrooms At Home

Grow Porcini Mushrooms At Home

 The deliciously flavored porcini mushroom can be grown using cardboard and inoculated sawdust. Porcini mushrooms are Known for their wonderful and bold flavor and are a great candidate for drying. Dried Porcini Mushrooms are one of my favorite ingredients in many dishes and especially good in recipes for Italian dishes.
These mushrooms great when fresh and when dried making them a perfect choice to grow. Mushrooms that you grow at home are have more flavor than those you will find in the supermarket.
Growing porcini mushrooms at home can be very easy to do with just cardboard and inoculated sawdust. You will also need a location to grow the mushrooms that stays cool and damp.

First you will need to find yourself a normal brown piece of cardboard around 2 by 3 feet in size. Soak the cardboard with water until you can peel the cardboard apart. After you reveal the ribbed inside portion of the cardboard you can then cover the ribbed portion of the cardboard with The inoculated sawdust. Roll up the cardboard and use duct tape to keep the cardboard from unrolling.Make sure you place the cardboard in an area where the humidity is maintained at 95 percent and the temperature stays 60-64 Fahrenheit such as a greenhouse. You can keep the cardboard nice and wet by spraying it with a water bottle as needed for it to stay damp but not soaked.One thing you should remember is the importance of moisture and temperature control when growing porcini mushrooms. This is very important for growing healthy Porcini mushrooms.

You can buy fresh or dried porcini mushrooms at any high end grocery store but by growing these mushroom at home you will have a fresh supply for all of your Italian cooking needs and save a ton of money. The bold and wonderful flavor of the porcini mushrom will add a great mushroomy kick to any of the dishes you prepare.During certain seasons and in certain areas these mushrooms can even be grown in your garden as long as the temperature stays when the required range.