Fettuccine con Funghi Porcini Recipe 🙌 Flavor profiles + the weather?
Fettuccine con Funghi Porcini
Ciao! Skyler and Giuseppe here from EXAU.
This month we were supposed to share our cime di rapa recipe but about 457348Â people asked us for THE fettuccine con funghi porcini recipe we posted on Instagram.
So, here is our fettuccine con funghi porcini recipe. Yes, it uses butter (!!!). We love this recipe because it feels decadent and delicate at the same time.
Are fungi just having a moment? Have they always been this popular? Or are folks just obsessed with white sauce? We honestly don't know. What we do know is that we LOVE funghi in all of her beautiful shapes and forms and we've made this at least 4x in the past 2 weeks.
If you don't have a casual freezer full of hand-picked, wild porcini from Sila like Lina, don't worry! Store-bought dried porcini will do (*insert Ina Garten voice*). When using dried porcini do not throw out the water the mushrooms are soaked in. Why? Full details in the recipe.
Also, if you love Pasta Aglio e Olio this *might* be your next favorite pasta.
Â
Calabria in February
Calabria is as sleepy as ever. The town still seems to be in hibernation. But, we've been experiencing unseasonably warm weather. The mornings are sunny, baking the front steps, creating the perfect spot for a cappuccino and an early morning read. We're currently perusing the beautiful pages of Falastin, and exploring the ways olive oil is used in other types of cuisine. Unfortunately, we have come to the conclusion that the 'ethnic' section of Calabrian grocery stores is deeply lacking in the spice department.
We digress. The warm weather is both good and bad. While we love the sunshine, a warm winter means we must manually water the trees. Also, warm weather can be quite confusing for olive trees, causing them to flower too early. We're monitoring them closely.
Â
EXAU Olive Oil
Another benefit of the incredible weather has been the lighting. Photographing our oils outdoors here in Calabria (vs a studio) has been such a joy. The nice weather also allowed for a leisurely drive through the region as we took our oils to a private panel for tasting! Let's take a closer look at the 2020 harvest.
Â
TURI
Named after Giuseppe's father, Salvatore, the Turi always seems to capture his easy-going and well-liked nature. It makes sense this is our most popular oil. Produced with 100% Carolea olives and grown within 25km of the Ionian Sea, the Turi stays true to its classic Calabrian flavor profile. Containing notes of ripe apple and freshly cut grass and finishing with bitter almond, this oil pairs exceptionally with vegetables.
Full flavor profile and shop the Turi here.
Â
LINA
She's the Queen of EXAU. Although the Turi is technically our most popular, the Lina usually sells out the fastest. We attribute this to the fact that this oil is named after Giuseppe's mother. Lina is famous for her good luck (no seriously, she always wins at scratchers), lack of patience, and fierceness. We produced this blend using some of our favorite olives: Coratina and Carolea.
Fun fact: In November the Lina was so pungent we had to adjust the blend % because it almost made us cry. It had a polyphenol level of over 1,000. Our highest ever. See, firey.
Full flavor profile and shop the Lina here.
Â
AVUS
Avus means grandfather in Latin. This is our tribute to Giuseppe's grandfather, who planted many of the trees on the family estates. He was a farmer, who used to till the soil with only a horse-drawn plow. Today many younger trees are planted between his 100-year-old giants. The Avus is a beautiful oil, with notes of tropical fruit (if you remember the Letregi then you know the Banana flavors are WILD!)
Full flavor profile and shop the Avus here.
Â
Memberships
We haven't forgotten about memberships! We're currently overhauling the membership program and will relaunch when everything is set up.
*We'll be updating inventory in increments throughout the spring, summer, and fall. We hope this allows you to enjoy our oils throughout the year.*
Follow us on Instagram or Facebook for more!
A presto,
-Skyler & Giuseppe
www.EXAUoliveoil.com
Â