Dried Mushroom Puree Recipes

PURéED MUSHROOM SOUP

Steps:

• Place the dried porcinis in a bowl or pyrex measuring cup and cover with 2 cups boiling water. Let sit for 30 minutes. Line a strainer with cheesecloth and set over a bowl. Drain the porcinis through a cheesecloth-lined strainer. Squeeze the mushrooms over the strainer to extract as much flavorful liquid as possible. Rinse in several changes of water and set aside. Measure the mushroom soaking water and add water or stock to make 6 cups.
• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven and add the onion and leek and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until tender and, about 5 to 8 minutes. Do not brown. Add a generous pinch of salt and the garlic and cook, stirring, until the garlic smells fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the fresh and reconstituted mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they begin to sweat and smell fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the rice, stock, bouquet garni, soy sauce and salt to taste, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes. Remove the bouquet garni and the parmesan rind if using.
• In batches, blend the soup until smooth. Fill the blender less than half way and cover the top with a towel pulled down tight, rather than airtight with the lid, because hot soup will jump and push the top off if the blender is closed airtight. Return to the pot, taste and adjust salt, and add pepper and the sherry, if using. Add the milk or another half cup of stock and heat through, stirring. If the soup still seems too thick, thin out a little more but remember to taste and adjust seasoning. Serve in espresso cups or in bowls, garnishing each serving with chopped or torn flat-leaf parsley.

DRIED MUSHROOM SOUP

Steps:

• Saute onion and celery in butter until tender.
• Crush morels or other mushrooms with rolling pin, set aside.
• Stir the flour into the onion-celery mixture, add the water and crushed mushrooms. Simmer until the mushrooms are tender, (about 5 minutes).
• Add bouillon, milk and seasonings. Heat, but do not boil, and serve.

DRIED MUSHROOM PUREE

Steps:

• Combine mushrooms with 2 1/2 cups water in 4- or 6-cup saucepan, and turn heat to medium-high. Bring to boil, then adjust the heat so the mixture simmers gently. Cook until mushrooms are tender, 15 minutes.
• Remove mushrooms with slotted spoon, and place in container of blender. Strain liquid from pan through a paper towel placed in a sieve, or through a couple layers of cheesecloth; there will be about 1 cup. Add most of the liquid to the mushrooms, and puree, adding remaining liquid, if necessary. (Reserve some liquid, if making a risotto or grain dish.)
• Season to taste with salt and pepper; serve, or cover and refrigerate. Bring back to room temperature before serving.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO PUREE

Steps:

• Cover dried tomatoes with water and bring to a simmer. Turn off heat. Let cool down in liquid to plump up tomatoes. Drain well and set in food processor with garlic and olive oil Puree until you have a smooth mixture but one which still has texture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Incorporate additions if you wish, or leave that to last minute. Store as is (or incorporate additions) in the freezer or transfer to a jar and cover the top with a film of olive oil.

MUSHROOM PUREE

Steps:

• Place oil in hot pan. Saute onion and garlic until translucent.
• Deglaze with wine.
• Add mushrooms and cook until soft.
• Add rosemary, cream and salt and reduce slightly. Puree. Makes 1 cup or enough for 2 pizza dough rounds.

DRIED MUSHROOM PUREE

Steps:

• Combine the mushrooms with 2 1/2 cups of water in a 4- or 6-cup saucepan and turn the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat so the mixture simmers gently. Cook until the mushrooms are tender, about 15 minutes.
• Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon and put in a blender. Strain the liquid through a paper towel put in a sieve or through a couple of layers of cheesecloth; there will be about 1 cup. Add most of the liquid to the mushrooms and puree, adding the remaining liquid if necessary to allow the machine to do its work.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve or cover and refrigerate for up to a couple of days.
• While the basic sauce mushroom, salt, pepper, and water is surprisingly complex, you can give it additional depth by adding one-or all-of the following to the blender during step 2:
• A peeled shallot or small garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon or more fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1 tablespoon or more port, tomato paste, or soy sauce In each case, be sure to taste the puree before you remove it from the blender; the mushroom flavor is so strong that it may take a relatively large quantity of a complementary ingredient to make an impression.