Porcini Mushroom Pesto Recipe
by Claire Thomson
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Easy
Dried porcini, steeped in boiling water, then very finely chopped and pounded through endlessly popular Pesto Genovese, is a very good thing. Rules are rules, however, and with the porcini added, we must now lose Genovese as geographical namesake.
Pesto pedantry dealt with, and given that a pesto is any sauce that has been pounded, go for it, and why not add a tiny drop of truffle oil in there too? I used to loathe truffle oil, stemming from the time when I first started out cooking in restaurants and truffle oil – in my world – was in copious use, on too many menus. Two decades later, just a tiny drop here or there, I rather love it, every now and then, especially when used in all recipes that list pesto. Stored in the fridge under a film of olive oil, this pesto will last up
to 2 weeks.
From Mushroom by Claire Thomson (Quadrille, £22), photography © Sam Folan
Ingredients for the Porcini Mushroom Pesto
- 20g dried porcini mushrooms or dried wild mushroom
- a large bunch of basil, leaves picked
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 20g toasted pine nuts
- 50ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for the top
- 50g Parmesan or Pecorino, finely grated
- truffle oil or paste, to taste (optional)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to make Porcini Mushroom Pesto
- Add the dried mushrooms to a heatproof bowl, pour over enough boiling water to cover and leave to soak for about 10 minutes until soft. Once softened, remove from the soaking liquid and finely chop, discarding the soaking liquid.
- Put the basil into a food processor or pestle and mortar along with the garlic and pine nuts. Blend or crush to a fine crumb, then with the machine on low speed (or stirring constantly with the pestle), slowly add the olive oil. Stir in the Parmesan or Pecorino and the finely chopped mushrooms and season to taste with truffle oil or paste, if using, and some salt and pepper.
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Transfer the pesto to a sterilized jam jar, cover the top with a film of olive oil to seal it, then close the lid. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
About the author
"I was born in Zimbabwe and spent my early childhood there before moving to London aged 8, from the city to Shropshire, in deepest countryside, until leaving home with a backpack and books (in a time before kindles). I have cooked in many places around the world and think cooking good food with interesting people from wherever in the world is where I am happiest. Also too, my own kitchen table with the children home from school, cup of tea, glass of wine and so on. Professional chef, food writer, author and mother of 3, I am almost always in an apron and am never without something to cook, someone to feed. Have knives and will travel!"
