American
Wild Mushroom Ragù
Chanterelles, porcini, and maitake in a silky butter-cream sauce — the forest floor in a bowl.
Recipe by Cyman Huang
Cooked, styled and photographed in his kitchen.
The Pacific Northwest is one of the world's great foraging regions, producing chanterelles, porcini, morels, matsutake, hen-of-the-woods, and countless other wild mushrooms through its cool, damp forest seasons.
This dish captures that wild abundance in a silky, deeply umami-rich ragù served over creamy polenta. The key is not overcrowding the pan when sautéing the mushrooms; each variety deserves individual attention to develop its own golden crust before being combined.
Watch it come together
Ingredients
For the wild mushroom ragù
- 1 lb mixed wild mushrooms (chanterelles, porcini, maitake, shiitake), torn into pieces
- 1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 cup boiling water (for rehydrating porcini)
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter (divided)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 shallots, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- ¾ cup dry white wine or dry sherry
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp soy sauce or Worcestershire (for umami depth)
- Kosher salt and coarsely cracked black pepper
For the creamy polenta
- 1 cup stone-ground polenta or coarse cornmeal
- 4 cups water or chicken/vegetable stock
- 1 cup whole milk
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 oz Parmesan, freshly grated
- 1½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp white pepper
Method
- 1
REHYDRATE DRIED PORCINI: Pour boiling water over the dried porcini. Soak 20 minutes. Lift out the porcini (don't pour — the sediment at the bottom is gritty) and chop roughly. Strain the soaking liquid through a coffee filter and reserve.
- 2
START POLENTA: Bring water or stock and milk to a simmer. Whisk in polenta in a steady stream. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, 25–30 minutes until creamy and fully tender. Off heat, stir in butter, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Keep warm.
- 3
SAUTÉ MUSHROOMS IN BATCHES: Heat 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil in a large wide skillet over high heat. Add one type of mushroom in a single layer. Do NOT stir for 2–3 minutes; let it develop a golden crust. Toss once and cook 1 more minute. Season with salt, remove, and repeat with the remaining mushrooms.
- 4
BUILD THE SAUCE: In the same pan over medium heat, add remaining butter, shallots, and garlic. Cook until softened, 3–4 minutes. Add rehydrated porcini and cook 2 minutes. Add white wine and reduce by half.
- 5
FINISH: Return all sautéed mushrooms to the pan. Add the reserved porcini liquid (all but the last tablespoon, which may contain grit), cream, thyme, and soy sauce. Simmer 5 minutes until the sauce coats the mushrooms. Taste and adjust salt.
- 6
SERVE: Spoon creamy polenta into warm wide bowls. Top with the ragù. Scatter parsley and an extra crack of black pepper. A drizzle of your best olive oil finishes it beautifully.
Substitutions
- Chef's tip: overcrowded mushrooms steam in their own moisture and turn gray and wet. Sauté in small batches in a hot pan and they caramelize instead, concentrating their flavor dramatically.
- For a vegan version, use olive oil in place of butter, full-fat coconut or oat cream, and skip the Parmesan.
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