This mushroom is often considered the king of all mushrooms, or even the “poor man’s steak”. With a hearty, nutty flavor, porcini mushrooms could be eaten alone! But, they are popular in pasta dishes. Add the mushrooms to your pasta water before cooking pasta to infuse even more of the porcini mushroom’s flavor in your dish. While there are several types of porcini mushrooms, the smaller variety are more prized because they have a lesser possibility of carrying larva that the larger porcini mushrooms. Fresh porcini mushrooms are common in Mexico and California, but are much more difficult to find in all other states. The best way to get a hold of these mushroom kings is to find them dried in a grocery store. Avoid porcini mushrooms with a yellowish tinge, very dark gills, or dark spots- these are all signs of over-ripeness.