Penne With Portobello Mushroom Ragu Recipes

PASTA WITH PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Trim hard parts from mushrooms and discard. Rinse mushrooms quickly to remove grit; cut caps into slices and stems into small chunks. Combine in a medium skillet with 1 clove garlic (crushed and peeled), thyme, olive oil and some salt and pepper. Cook over sufficiently low heat so that mixture bubbles but mushrooms do not brown. Continue to cook, stirring infrequently, until they are quite shrunken in size and appear firm, 30 to 45 minutes. (At this point, you can pause for several hours before resuming cooking.) If you are using porcinis, soak them in hot water to cover for a few minutes so that they soften.
• Set a large pot of water to boil for pasta and salt it. Mince remaining garlic. Turn heat under oil to medium, and add garlic to the portobellos along with the drained porcinis. Cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic begins to color. Add tomatoes and raise heat to medium high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they break up and become saucy, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta until it is tender but not mushy. Taste sauce and adjust its seasoning. When pasta is done, drain it, toss with sauce, top with Parmesan, and serve.

PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM, HOT AND SWEET PEPPER RAGU WITH PAPPARDELLE

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler and char the red cherry and bell peppers until evenly blackened. Place in a bowl and cover to cool. Peel and seed the peppers. Finely dice the red cherry peppers, and then chop the red bell peppers into 1/4-inch dice.
• Meanwhile, heat the EVOO in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the pancetta to render, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until dark and tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Add the rosemary, sage, thyme, marjoram, garlic, onions and some salt and black pepper and cook 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and roasted peppers. Deglaze with the wine and cook until reduced by half, scraping reducing up the bits on the bottom of the pan, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break down, 30 minutes.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pappardelle to al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy cooking water before draining, and tossing the pasta with the sauce and the cooking water 1 minute. To serve, combine the pasta with lots of grated pecorino, passing more at the table, for topping.

PENNE WITH MUSHROOM RAGOUT AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Place the dried mushrooms in a Pyrex measuring cup and pour on 2 cups boiling water. Let soak 30 minutes, while you prepare the other ingredients. Place a strainer over a bowl, line it with cheesecloth or paper towels, and drain the mushrooms. Squeeze the mushrooms over the strainer to extract all the flavorful juices. Then rinse the mushrooms, away from the bowl with the soaking liquid, until they are free of sand. Squeeze dry and set aside. If very large, chop coarsely. Measure out 1 cup of the soaking liquid and set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy, nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the onion or shallots. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Turn up the heat to medium-high and add the fresh mushrooms. Cook, stirring often, until they begin to soften and sweat, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and salt to taste, stir together for about 30 seconds, then add the reconstituted dried mushrooms and the wine and turn the heat to high. Cook, stirring, until the liquid boils down and glazes the mushrooms. Add the herbs and the mushroom soaking liquid. Bring to a simmer, add salt to taste, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the mushrooms are thoroughly tender and fragrant. Turn off the heat, stir in some freshly ground pepper, taste and adjust salt.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Fill a bowl with ice water. Add the spinach to the boiling water and blanch for 20 seconds only. Remove with a skimmer and transfer to the ice water, then drain and squeeze out water. Chop coarsely and add to the mushrooms. Reheat gently over low heat.
• Bring the water back to a boil and cook the pasta al dente following the timing suggestions on the package. If there is not much broth in the pan with the mushrooms and spinach, add a ladleful of pasta water. Drain the pasta, toss with the mushrooms and spinach, add Parmesan to taste, and serve at once.

PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM RAGU

Steps:

• 1. Heat olive oil in a large casserole and saute the onions until lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often.
• 2. Add garlic, saute for 1 minute, then stir in mushrooms and thyme. Continue to cook over high heat until the mushrooms have softened and given off their juices, 2 to 3 minutes.
• 3. Add tomatoes and cook until the mixture is thick, about 10 minutes. Serve over wheatberry, bulgur wheat pilaf or soft cornmeal polenta. Ragu can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 4 days, Garnish with additional thyme, if desired.