A plate of risotto with funghi - the taste of autumn in Italy Photo: stock.adobe.com/Kateryna
From our editorial team
When the forests become empty, Italy's cuisine is filled with flavours of earth and wood. Autumn tastes of funghi, mushrooms in all their forms.
From the Alps to Sicily mushrooms are currently on the menu in Italy, simply prepared and with an astonishing variety. In autumn, porcini mushrooms, chanterelles and parasols appear on the markets, collected in the forests of the north or cultivated in the humid south. Italy eats what is growing.
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Risotto ai Funghi - the northern classic
In the Lombardy mushroom risotto is part of everyday cooking. The base is usually starchy Carnaroli rice, with white wine, stock and sautéed porcini mushrooms. Patience is key: the risotto is not cooked, but slowly stirred until the grain and sauce become one.
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Photo: stock.adobe.com/HelgaQ
Tagliatelle ai Porcini - Tuscany pure
Wide ribbon noodles, olive oil, garlic, porcini mushrooms, salt. That's all the dish needs. In many trattorias, the mushrooms are sliced raw over the hot pasta - a preparation that retains their nutty flavour without losing the smell of the forest.
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Polenta con Funghi - warm simplicity
In the north, polenta is served as a main course, not as a side dish. Served with a ragù of mushrooms, herbs and butter. The combination of sweetcorn and mushrooms is down-to-earth, filling and surprisingly delicious.
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More InformationCrostini ai Funghi - little effort, big flavour
Mushrooms develop their full flavour on toasted bread. In Umbria, the mixture is flavoured with a little lemon juice, in Lazio with pecorino. A typical starter that shows that Italian cuisine is all about flavour.
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Uova al Tartufo - Luxury in everyday life
When the first white truffles appear in Piedmont, the egg becomes the carrier of a luxury fragrance. A simple fried egg with thin slices of Alba truffle on top - it's hard to imagine Italy in all its contradictions: expensive, simple, ingenious.
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