Mushroom Ragu
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds cultivated brown mushrooms such as cremini, shiitake, or portobellos
- ½ pound pale wild mushrooms such as chanterelles (or use cultivated king trumpet or oyster mushrooms)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1 large onion diced
- Salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon chopped thyme
- 1 teaspoon chopped sage or rosemary
- Pinch crushed red pepper or cayenne
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 small ripe tomatoes peeled, seeded and chopped*
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 cups porcini mushroom or chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 cloves garlic grated or minced
- 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Porcini Mushroom Broth (makes 3 cups)
- ½ cup dried porcini or other wild mushrooms crumbled
- 1 small onion sliced
- 6 scallions chopped
- 1 medium celery stalk chopped
- 1 medium carrot chopped
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 4 cups water
Instructions
For the porcini broth
- Place all the ingredients together in a large saucepan, then place the pan over high heat until the mixture comes to a boil.
- Immediately reduce the heat to low and simmer the broth for 30 minutes.
- Strain the simmered broth through a fine-mesh sieve. [Can be refrigerated for 1 week or frozen for several months for future use.]
For the ragu
- Clean all the mushrooms, keeping the types/colors separate. Trim the tough end of the stems, or if using shiitakes, completely remove their woody stems (save these for broth). Slice mushrooms into ⅛-inch thick pieces.
- Dice the onion.
- Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to a wide & deep skillet, place over medium-high heat, then add the onion, a generous pinch of salt and cracked black pepper to the pan. Cook the seasoned onions, stirring occasionally, until softened and browned, about 25-30 minutes. Remove the onions from the pan and set aside.
- While the onions are cooking, prep the remaining vegetables. Mince the garlic. Blanch, peel, seed, and chop the tomatoes *(or simply use ~6 ounces of pureed tomato). Chop the parsley.
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the (now empty) pan and turn the heat to high. Add the brown (cremini, shiitake, portobello,...) mushrooms and fry without stirring for 1-2 minutes, until they pick up some color. Stir to flip the mushroom pieces, cooking another 1-2 minutes until browned on each side. Lower the heat to medium, season the mushrooms with a pinch of salt and pepper, then add the thyme, sage, crushed red pepper, tomato paste, and chopped tomatoes (or pureed tomatoes). Stir well and continue cooking for another minute.
- Sprinkle the flour over top the mushroom mixture, stir to incorporate, and cook another 1 minute until the flour disappears. Add in the onion.
- Add 1 cup of the porcini broth (or chicken or vegetable) and stir gently until the sauce begins to thicken, about 1-2 minutes. Gradually add the remaining 1 cup of broth, cook another 2 minutes. The sauce should now have the consistency of gravy: If it's too thick, add a little more broth. If it's too thin, continue cooking and stirring until it thickens. Adjust the seasoning (salt, pepper, chile flake) to taste. Remove from the heat while you work on the chanterelles (or serve as is). [You can stop here and refrigerate the ragu for hours/a day before proceeding.]
- Add the final 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the butter to a clean wide skillet set over medium-high heat. Once the butter starts to brown, add the chanterelles, season them with salt and pepper, and saute for about 2 minutes or until they begin to brown and are cooked through. Add the minced garlic and chopped parsley, stir to coat and cook for another minute to cook out the raw garlic.
- Add the cooked chanterelles to the mushroom ragu and serve (over bread, polenta, couscous, pasta, veggies, etc.).