Mushroom Ragù

Name: Mushroom Ragù
Yield: about 6 cups of sauce, enough to dress 3 pounds of pasta
Ingredients: 1/2 ounce dried porcini (about 1/2cup loosely packed pieces), soaked in 1 1/2 cups warm water; 2 1/2 pounds small, firm fresh mixed mushrooms (see box on page 139 for suggestions); 3 sprigs fresh thyme; 1 sprig fresh rosemary, a tender stem about 4 inches long; 1 sprig fresh sage with 4 big leaves (or more smaller ones); 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 4 tablespoons butter; 1 cup finely chopped shallots; 1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup); 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste; 1/3 cup tomato paste; 1 cup dry Marsala; 4 cups hot Turkey Broth (page 80) or Simple Vegetable Broth (page 288); Freshly ground black pepper; A 14-inch sauté pan with high sides, or a 14-inch-wide Dutch oven

December 14, 2011

This is a great vegetarian sauce, very complex and satisfying. It’s excellent for pasta, baked in a lasagna or polenta pasticciata, cooked into risotto or as a condiment for grilled steak or fish. The mushrooms you can buy at the supermarket will make a fine sauce; if you have fresh wild mushrooms it will be even better. In either case, dried porcini provide a key element in this sauce (and many others). On using dried porcini, see box on facing page.

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