Originally Published: 2009-10-18

Mushrooms are one of those food staples that turn up just about anywhere and everywhere in Italian cooking.
Add them to a vegetable sauté for extra flavour, colour and texture, simmer them in soups, stews, sauces and polentas, or use them to decorate a pizza or serve them alongside meat or fish dishes.
The most prized and popular Italian mushrooms are cremini, porcini and portobello.
Cremini mushrooms have a rich brown skin, creamy tan flesh, and a dense, earthy flavour.
For best results, select plump, unbruised cremini and store (unwashed) in paper towels or a plastic bag in a counter rather than the refrigerator.
As with any mushrooms, cremini should not be washed. Simply wipe with a damp paper towel or scrub dirt off with a mushroom brush.
Cremini can be paired with portobello mushrooms in a pasta dish, or they can be stuffed with a mixture of bread crumbs, olive oil, egg, Parmesan cheese and finely chopped onions.
Because they are sturdy and dense, cremini work well in a variety of pasta dishes. They are a good match in a spaghetti dish that includes garlic, parsley, sage, garlic cloves, olive oil, parsley and Parmesan cheese.
With their distinguishing shape and meaty texture, porcini mushrooms are a hit in Italian cuisine and are considered one of the finest-tasting of all fungi. In fact, porcini, which means “little piglets,” are considered one of the most prized varieties of mushrooms. It’s no surprise they are the most expensive, but a little goes a long way toward enhancing your cooking needs.
Porcini mushrooms grow all over Italy, but the best are found near the Apennines and in Emilia-Romagna. They come in a variety of types and qualities, but the best of the best have a light-coloured cap and are grown in chestnut woods. The most prized have big, round and fleshy hats and short, round stalks.
Whether they are raised, grilled or baked, these tasty little mushrooms are commonly preserved in oil or dried for winter into pastes and powder.

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