There are some ingredients of Italian cuisine that are hard to come by in the States. Radicchio tardivo di Treviso, seen below, is one of them.
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| NOT porcini |
Another one is porcini mushrooms. I've come upon the dried variety, of course, but there are obvious limitations. Next best would be frozen (also a compromise, but still.) So last week I was at my local Trader Joe's when I came upon their frozen porcini mushroom chunks. And bought them, naturally. Net weight 8 oz., price $3.69. Not bad. Imported from France. It must be a new item, since I haven't found anything on the Internet about them.
My first use was from frozen in a simple pasta dish. Pretty good. The second was even better. I sauteed fresh onions in olive oil, added riced cauliflower, stirred, added the flavorful water from bag, added the porcini (cut into smaller pieces). Bit of grated parmigiano. Very good. An herb or two would make it even better. I'm thinking thyme.
Obviously not a substitute for fresh porcini picked while hiking in the woods of Tuscany, but better than being porciniless.