Winter Mushroom Hunting at The Essential Ingredient
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There is no need for gumboots and foraging when a full spectrum of fungi flavours for the most complex of winter dishes can be found amongst The Essential Ingredient’s Signature range.
Mushrooms are the perfect pantry staple for the cooler months, not only do they enhance many dishes with an intense earthy flavour, they are nutritious and delicious and have a way of taking a meal to another level. There is much to be celebrated when it comes to this humble ground dweller.
There are a many special varieties of mushroom from Porcini to the Bolet Jaune and Garniture Forestiere, but only a few are commercially available in Australia. The Essential Ingredient sources a wide range from French and Italian producers renowned for perfecting the art of drying mushrooms so we may enjoy all types of mushroom all year round.
Rehydrating wild dried mushrooms is simply a matter of adding hot water and soaking them until the required texture is achieved. The drying process concentrates the flavours and the soaking liquid can also be used to enhance the flavour of stocks and sauces.
Whether it’s steak and mushroom pie, Porcini risotto or pasta with creamy Trompette des Maures sauce, mushrooms contribute a unique texture and complexity difficult to match.
The Essential Ingredient Porcini Powder
RRP $15.95
Porcini Powder, ground from quality French dried porcini mushrooms, adds a sophisticated flavour and richness to many dishes, whether incorporated into a liquid, combined with pastry or dusted over a finished dish.
The Essential Ingredient Dried Mushrooms - Porcini Slices
RRP $5.95 - AUD $15.50
These sliced, dried porcini mushrooms have an intense meaty flavour ideal for pasta and rice dishes. Simply reconstitute in hot water for 30 minutes before use.
The Essential Ingredient Dried Mushrooms - Morels
RRP $23.95
The morel is the most highly prized of mushrooms, beautiful in appearance and with a rich, smoky flavour perfect with chicken, fish or pasta. Its intensity, character and unique flavour is not lost in the drying process.
The Essential Ingredient Dried Mushrooms - Bolet Jaune
RRP $5.30 - AUD $10.85
This yellow, round cap mushroom, grown and dried in Central France, is ideal for stocks and sauces, or for intensifying the flavour of cultivated mushrooms in your favourite dish.
The Essential Ingredient Dried Mushrooms - Garniture Forestiere
RRP $4.85 - AUD $8.75
This dried forest mushroom blend is a mix of shiitake, oyster, black fungus and porcini mushrooms, perfect wherever complexity and depth of flavour is required.
The Essential Ingredient Dried Mushrooms - Trompette Des Maures
RRP $6.65 - AUD $12.75
Also known as 'black chanterelle', 'horn of plenty' and the sinister 'trompette de la mort', this woodland mushroom is horn-like in shape. It is richly flavoured, with a hint of nuttiness, and is perfect with creamy sauces.
The Essential Ingredient Dried Mushrooms – Sliced Shiitake
RRP $3.95 - $6.70
Originally only popular in Asian cuisines, this meaty-flavoured mushroom is now beloved around the world. The concentrated flavour of these whole, dried mushrooms is perfect for soups and braises.
The Essential Ingredient Dried Mushrooms - Chanterelle
RRP - $7.75 - $16.95
Known as ‘yellow’ or ‘golden’ chanterelle, or ‘girolle’, these mushrooms originate from the beech forests of Europe. With a toasted, nutty flavour, these furled trumpet-shaped mushrooms are delicious in soups, sauces and casseroles.
