Nonna's Fried Mushrooms

Mushrooms are a very big part of Italian cooking, and for this reason they were a big part of my childhood. This may seem strange as we often tend to think of mushrooms as an adult food, but as a kid I absolutely loved them. I think this love began with one amazingly simple dish my grandma used to make for me growing up: fried mushrooms.

I remember loving fall because this was the season mushrooms started to grow in the yard. As soon as the weather started to get colder and damper, my Nonna would start to check on all the tree stumps around her house to see if any mushrooms had popped up. I would excitedly wait until she finally noticed some getting bigger because this meant she would soon make her first batch of fried mushrooms of the year. I would sometimes go with her to collect them, we would take a plastic bag and a knife and cut them off of the tree trunks to bring home and cook.

Her recipe for fried mushrooms was incredibly simple. She would clean and quickly boil the mushrooms to tenderize them. Then she would pass them in flour and fry them. I would sit in the kitchen while she made them and eat them while she fried more. They were absolutely delicious!

Sadly, when I found out I couldn’t have gluten, I also stopped being able to enjoy my Nonna’s fried mushrooms. I think, however, that this recipe is a simple joy more people should be able to experience. For this reason, I want to share a variation of the original recipe, which is made with einkorn and rice flour, so that people sensitive to gluten like me can also try my grandma’s amazing fried mushrooms.

Click here for my Einkorn Fried Mushroom Recipe.

With love,
Giulia