How to get great flavor out of ordinary white mushrooms? Add a handful of dried porcini. You will not believe the difference.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　1/2 cup dried porcini

　　1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

　　1 pound button mushrooms, trimmed and sliced

　　Salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　1 teaspoon minced garlic

　　2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

　　

Step 1

Pour boiling water over the porcini to reconstitute; let them sit for about 10 minutes, or until tender, then drain and trim off any hard spots.

　　

Step 2

Put the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat; a minute later, add the porcini and button mushrooms, along with a big pinch of salt and some pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms give off most of their liquid and begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Turn the heat to medium-low and add the garlic. Continue to cook for a few more minutes, until the mixture is tender and glossy. Taste and adjust the seasoning, stir in the parsley, and serve hot or warm.

　　

Dried Mushroom

Step 3

The best-tasting dried mushrooms are dried porcini (also called cèpes), which have come down about 50 percent in price over the last few years. Try to find dried porcini sold in bulk, not in tiny little packages of less than an ounce each (these are a complete rip-off). If you live in a big city, a major Italian or specialty food market will have them; otherwise, you can find good sources on the Internet. I usually buy about a pound at a time, which usually costs about fifty bucks and lasts me a couple of years.

　　From Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes From the New York Times by Mark Bittman Copyright (c) 2007 by Mark Bittman Published by Broadway Books.Mark Bittman is the author of the blockbuster Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.