Mushroom Sugo
From Elise.
This was sooooo delicious. We served it over polenta.
It did take a while (30 min) to pull all this together but then it cooks itself for 90 minutes. Mincing is close work; I got my mindfulness dose today.
I loved the texture of the sauce because the veggies don't cook to complete uniform sauciness. Reviewers compared it to a bolognese (meat) sauce and while I love that it can be made entirely, beautifully vegetarian, the hearty texture and earthy flavors make me agree with this assessment.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
The onions cook for a long time, during which you can prep the rest of the vegetables if you want to save some time. If you are using dry herbs, use half as much. The mincing is important, as the sauce is not strained or puréed.
Ingredients
•1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
•4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
•2 medium yellow onions, peeled and minced (yielding about 2 cups minced onion)
•2 carrots, peeled and minced (yielding about 1 1/2 cups minced carrots)
•3 celery ribs, minced (yielding about 1 1/2 cups minced celery)
•6-8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
•1 bunch parsely, minced (yielding 1/3 cup loosely packed)
•1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
•1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme
•1/4 teaspoon fresh marjoram (we didn't have marjoram growing so we used fresh oregano instead, which has a similar flavor)
•1/2 cup dry red wine
•1 15-ounce can of tomato sauce
•1 beef bouillon cube (use vegetable bouillon cube for vegetarian option)
•1 bay leaf
•Freshly ground black pepper
Method
1 Place dry mushrooms to soak in a bowl with 2 cups of warm water. Set aside. (I had never used porcini before - what a treat! You know you're a grown-up when...)
2 Heat olive oil in a medium, thick-bottomed pot (4 or 5 quart) over medium heat. (I used a deep/wide skillet so I could spread the veggies out and use the shorter cook times for each step) Add the minced onions and stir to coat with the olive oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions turn a deep golden color, about 30 to 40 minutes. Adjust the heat lower if necessary to keep the onions from drying out.
3 Add the minced carrots and cook for 5-6 more minutes. Add the celery and cook until soft, about 10 more minutes. Add the garlic, parsley, rosemary, thyme and marjoram. Cook for 4-5 minutes more. (and then it starts to smell AMAZING!)
4 Remove the porcini from the soaking liquid, reserving the liquid. (The easiest way to do this we found is to pour the porcini and soaking liquid through a coffee filter, into a bowl or measuring cup. This helps remove any grit that may be lingering in the soaking liquid.) Finely chop the mushrooms and add to the vegetables in the pot.
5 Push the vegetables to one side of the pot and increase the heat to high. Add the 1/2 cup of red wine to the side of the pot without the vegetables and cook on high heat for 2-3 minutes. (subbed stock)
6 Add the tomato sauce, 1 1/2 cups of the mushroom soaking liquid, the bouillon cube (break it up with your fingers as you add it), and the bay leaf to the pot. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to low. Add ground black pepper to taste. Cover the pot and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hours. Discard the bay leaf.
Serve over polenta or toss with ravioli or other pasta.
Serves 8.
This was sooooo delicious. We served it over polenta.
It did take a while (30 min) to pull all this together but then it cooks itself for 90 minutes. Mincing is close work; I got my mindfulness dose today.
I loved the texture of the sauce because the veggies don't cook to complete uniform sauciness. Reviewers compared it to a bolognese (meat) sauce and while I love that it can be made entirely, beautifully vegetarian, the hearty texture and earthy flavors make me agree with this assessment.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
The onions cook for a long time, during which you can prep the rest of the vegetables if you want to save some time. If you are using dry herbs, use half as much. The mincing is important, as the sauce is not strained or puréed.
Ingredients
•1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
•4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
•2 medium yellow onions, peeled and minced (yielding about 2 cups minced onion)
•2 carrots, peeled and minced (yielding about 1 1/2 cups minced carrots)
•3 celery ribs, minced (yielding about 1 1/2 cups minced celery)
•6-8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
•1 bunch parsely, minced (yielding 1/3 cup loosely packed)
•1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
•1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme
•1/4 teaspoon fresh marjoram (we didn't have marjoram growing so we used fresh oregano instead, which has a similar flavor)
•1/2 cup dry red wine
•1 15-ounce can of tomato sauce
•1 beef bouillon cube (use vegetable bouillon cube for vegetarian option)
•1 bay leaf
•Freshly ground black pepper
Method
1 Place dry mushrooms to soak in a bowl with 2 cups of warm water. Set aside. (I had never used porcini before - what a treat! You know you're a grown-up when...)
2 Heat olive oil in a medium, thick-bottomed pot (4 or 5 quart) over medium heat. (I used a deep/wide skillet so I could spread the veggies out and use the shorter cook times for each step) Add the minced onions and stir to coat with the olive oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions turn a deep golden color, about 30 to 40 minutes. Adjust the heat lower if necessary to keep the onions from drying out.
3 Add the minced carrots and cook for 5-6 more minutes. Add the celery and cook until soft, about 10 more minutes. Add the garlic, parsley, rosemary, thyme and marjoram. Cook for 4-5 minutes more. (and then it starts to smell AMAZING!)
4 Remove the porcini from the soaking liquid, reserving the liquid. (The easiest way to do this we found is to pour the porcini and soaking liquid through a coffee filter, into a bowl or measuring cup. This helps remove any grit that may be lingering in the soaking liquid.) Finely chop the mushrooms and add to the vegetables in the pot.
5 Push the vegetables to one side of the pot and increase the heat to high. Add the 1/2 cup of red wine to the side of the pot without the vegetables and cook on high heat for 2-3 minutes. (subbed stock)
6 Add the tomato sauce, 1 1/2 cups of the mushroom soaking liquid, the bouillon cube (break it up with your fingers as you add it), and the bay leaf to the pot. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to low. Add ground black pepper to taste. Cover the pot and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hours. Discard the bay leaf.
Serve over polenta or toss with ravioli or other pasta.
Serves 8.
Comments