Porcini Butter Recipes

PAN SEARED STEAK WITH PORCINI AND HERB BUTTER

Steps:

• To a small mixing bowl, add half of the dried porcini mushrooms. Pour boiling water over the mushrooms, cover, and let sit about 10 minutes, until mushrooms are soft.
• Strain out mushrooms and press with a paper towel to press out the extra liquid.
• Slice mushrooms and set aside.
• Add remaining dry mushrooms to a food processor and pulse until they are turned into mushroom powder.
• To the food processor, add the butter, salt, thyme, parsley and half the sliced mushrooms. Pulse until well blended.
• Remove butter to a sheet of plastic wrap. Mix in remaining sliced mushrooms and roll into a log, twisting the ends to seal. Refrigerate 30 minutes to an hour, until firm.
• Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
• Liberally season both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper and set aside to rest.
• Over MED-HIGH heat, heat a large cast iron skillet (or oven proof pan) and add olive oil and butter.
• Carefully place both steaks in the skillet, leaving room between the two. Once the steaks are in the pan, do NOT move them. Cook for 4 minutes, turn steaks over and cook another 4 minutes. If you try to flip the steaks and they are sticking to the pan, it means the steaks aren't ready to flip yet. Give them another 20-30 seconds and try again.
• Remove pan from the heat, add garlic and thyme and slide pan carefully into the oven.
• Bake about 5 minutes, then check doneness with a meat thermometer.
• Once steak reaches desired doneness (about 135-140 for medium rare), remove from the oven.
• Spoon pan juices over the top of the steak, add a pat or two of the compound butter, and let rest for 5-10 minutes.
• Serve with an additional pat of compound butter, caramelized onions, and additional fresh thyme if desired.

PORCINI-CRUSTED FILET MIGNON WITH FRESH HERB BUTTER

Steps:

• Mix first 4 ingredients in small bowl for herb butter. Season butter to taste with salt and pepper. Process dried porcini mushrooms in spice grinder to fine powder. Transfer powder to plate. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper. Press steaks into porcini powder to coat both sides well.
• Melt 2 tablespoons herb butter in heavy large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add steaks to skillet and cook to desired doneness, about 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer steaks to plates. Spoon rounded tablespoon of herb butter atop each steak and serve.

TAGLIATELLE WITH PORCINI BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• Tagliatelle: Mound flour on a clean work surface or in a large bowl. Make a well in center. Add egg, yolks, oil, and warm water to well. Using a fork and stirring outward from center, gradually incorporate flour into egg mixture until a ragged dough forms.
• Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, 6 to 8 minutes. (Or combine ingredients in a mixer bowl and knead with the dough-hook attachment 8 to 10 minutes.) Tightly cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until soft and pliable, at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
• Cut dough into 4 portions. Keeping remaining portions covered with plastic, shape one into a rectangle. With a pasta roller on its largest setting (1 on a KitchenAid stand-mixer attachment), run dough through roller. Fold dough in half and run through largest setting again. Repeat once or twice more. Turn machine to next setting and pass through roller once.
• Continue passing dough through, lowering setting each time, until dough has run through the smallest setting (8 on KitchenAid attachment). Transfer to a tray generously dusted with semolina (or all-purpose) flour; dust top with more. Repeat process with remaining portions of dough.
• Attach a tagliatelle/fettuccine cutter to a pasta machine. Roll each sheet through cutter. Hang in a single layer on a pasta rack or transfer to a tray dusted with semolina and let dry, 30 minutes. (Pasta can be made up to 1 day ahead: Once dry, loosely twirl handfuls of pasta into 6 "nests," generously dust with more semolina, and refrigerate in a single layer in an airtight container.)
• Porcini Butter Sauce: Heat a large straight-sided skillet over medium. Add oil, butter, and garlic. When butter melts and garlic sizzles, add mushrooms; season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender and golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Add pepper flakes and cook 30 seconds more.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of generously salted boiling water until al dente,2 to 3 minutes. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain. Add 2/3 cup pasta water to skillet with mushrooms. Bring to a simmer. Add tagliatelle, tossing until sauce thickens slightly and evenly coats pasta, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
• Add parsley and half of cheese, tossing to combine. Add more pasta water as needed, a little at a time, until sauce evenly clings to pasta again. Serve topped with remaining cheese, pepper flakes, and a drizzle of oil.

PORCINI BUTTER

Steps:

• Finely chop garlic. In a small bowl soak porcini in boiling-hot water 20 minutes. Remove porcini, squeezing out excess liquid, and reserve soaking liquid. Rinse porcini to remove any grit and finely chop. Line a sieve set over a small saucepan with a dampened paper towel and pour reserved soaking liquid through it. Add porcini and garlic to saucepan and simmer mixture until liquid is reduced to about 1 tablespoon, about 3 minutes. Cool mixture.
• In a bowl with a fork mash together butter, porcini mixture, and salt and pepper to taste until combined well. Transfer butter to a sheet of wax paper and roll into a 6-inch log. Butter may be kept, covered and chilled, 2 days or frozen, wrapped in foil, 1 month. Bring butter to room temperature before using.
• Variations:
• Here are a few compound butters we find particularly versatile. Using the basic technique of mashing together butter and flavoring in the recipe above, and with a little imagination, you can create your own favorites.
• • Beurre maître d'hôtel: 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leafed parsley leaves
• • Truffle butter: 1 small black winter truffle or 2 small black summer truffles, chopped fine
• • Roquefort butter: 3 tablespoons crumbled Roquefort (only 1/2 stick butter needed for this variation)

PORCINI-BUTTERED ROAST BEEF SIRLOIN WITH PICKLED PEPPERCORN SAUCE

Steps:

• The night before, prepare the peppercorns for the sauce. Put the green peppercorns and vinegar in a small bowl, cover and leave at room temperature overnight.
• The next day, pat the beef dry with kitchen paper, cover loosely, and leave for 1 hr at room temperature - this helps to ensure perfectly cooked meat later. Put the dried porcini mushrooms and black peppercorns in a small blender or spice grinder, and blitz to a powder. Mash with the butter and set aside.
• Heat the oven to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. Season the sirloin all over with the sea salt. Heat the oil in a flameproof roasting tin or large frying pan over a high heat, and sear the beef, fat-side down, for 5-8 mins until some of the fat has rendered out and turned golden brown, then holding the beef with tongs, sear it on all sides for 2-3 mins until browned all over. Sit the browned beef in the roasting tin fat-side up and spoon out most of the fat (if you have rendered it in the tin). Spoon 2 tbsp of the rendered fat over the beef and reserve any leftover fat for making yorkshires. Arrange the shallots around the beef, turning to coat them in the fat.
• Roast for 20 mins, then dot the porcini butter all over the beef and reduce the heat to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Roast for another 40-50 mins for rare to medium-rare, or 1 hr for medium-well. If you have a meat thermometer, it should read 55C for medium-rare, or 65C for well done. Baste the meat in the butter from the tin, then transfer to a warm platter or board with the shallots. Cover and leave to rest for 20 mins.
• To make the sauce, discard all but 4 tbsp fat from the tin and set the tin over a low heat (or transfer to a pan), and fry the chopped shallots for 6-8 mins until softened and translucent. Strain the pickled peppercorns, reserving the vinegar, and add to the pan along with the stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 mins until reduced by about half, then whisk in the cream. Taste for seasoning, and add the reserved vinegar, 1 tsp at a time, to balance the acidity and creaminess (we used about 5 tsp). Simmer for another 5-6 mins until the sauce has thickened. Pour into a jug. Carve the beef and serve with the roasted shallots and sauce.

PORCINI BUTTER

Steps:

• In a small bowl combine porcinis and broth; let stand 30 minutes.
• Drain mushrooms, reserving broth, and place in food processor.
• Strain broth and reduce over medium heat to 3 - 4 tablespoons.
• Add broth to food processor and process to puree.
• Add butter and process to blend.
• Transfer to serving dish and use as a topping.
• Store in refrigerator.