1 oz Boletus mushrooms, dried*
6 c Very warm water
2 md Shallots, peeled & chopped
6 ea Peppercorns
1 ea Blade whole mace -=OR=-
1 pn Ground mace
1/2 sm Bay leaf
*One oz. = 2/3 cup. Suggested mushrooms are cepes,
porcini, Steinpilze or boletes marketed as "Chilean
dried mushrooms." Combine mushrooms in a bowl with 4
cups very warm water. Push them under the surface,
weight them with a saucer, and let them soak overnight
or for at least 6 hours, until they are very soft.
Stir them occasionally.
Lift mushrooms from the liquid with a slotted spoon
(save the liquid) and chop them fine, saving as much
juice as possible. Combine them with the remaining 2
cups water in a saucepan, bring them to a simmer, and
simmer them, covered, for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, to
clear the soaking liquid of grit, pour it carefully
into a bowl, leaving behind the sediment - this is
certain to be sandy. Let the liquid settle again and
again pour it off; repeat, if necessary, to be sure
any grit has been left behind. Pour the simmered
mushrooms and their liquid into a sieve set over a
bowl and lined with fine nylon net or two layers of
dampened cheesecloth. Press hard on the mushrooms to
extract all possible liquid; discard the debris. Let
this second batch of liquid settle, then decant it as
described for the soaking liquid; repeat if necessary.
Combine the two batches of liquid with the shallots,
peppercorns, mace and bay leaf in a saucepan. Bring
the liquid to a boil over medium-high heat and simmer
it briskly, uncovered, until it has reduced to 2 cups.
Strain out the solids and let the concentrated liquid
settle for one last time - we're still on the track of
any sand that may remain. Decant the cooled essence,
then freeze it in an ice-cube tray. Remove the cubes
from the tray and store them in an airtight freezer
container. Keeps for up to a year in the freezer.
Yield: 16 cubes, about 2 tb. each.
