One of the tricks to cooking porcinis is to begin by removing the spongy part beneath the cap in order to prevent them from releasing too much liquid and stewing in their own juice.

This recipe may be used with any type of mushroom, but if you can find fresh porcinis or chanterelles, they will boost it from great to spectacular. The ingredients below are for a single omelet — simply multiply by the number of people at your table.

1 large or 2 medium fresh porcini mushrooms
1 tsp. olive oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. water
1 tsp. butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 parsley sprig

Slice off the earthy ends of the mushrooms and brush them gently to remove any other bits of earth or leaves. Using your fingers, delicately pry away the spongy bottom of the cap.

Slice the mushrooms in half lengthwise, and then cut the halves into slices about 1/5 inch (5 mm) thick.

Heat the olive oil to sizzling in a frying pan. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to brown and have given off and reabsorbed their juices. Remove from heat.

Crack the eggs into a medium-sized bowl, add the water and whisk until frothy.

In an omelet pan, heat the butter to sizzling and swirl it around to coat the bottom and sides. When the butter is starting to brown, add the eggs and swirl to coat the pan. As soon as the eggs start to set, lift an edge of the omelet and tilt the pan to allow the liquid eggs to run beneath. Repeat several times, lifting different parts of the omelet. Before the eggs have set completely, add the mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt and grind in some pepper.

Slip the omelet out of the pan and onto a plate, allowing it to fold over itself. Serve immediately, garnished with a parsley sprig and accompanied by crusty bread and a good bottle of red. Serves 1.


I've found that if you give up what you want most for what you think you should want more, you'll just end up miserable.