Martha sheds light on the world of mushrooms and makes four fantastic recipes: savory buckwheat crepes with mushroom filling, a vegetarian mushroom ragù, French mushroom soup, and a modern-day mushroom risotto. You’ll be inspired to prepare her tasty recipes—for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Serves: 6 – 8
Ingredients
- 2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
- 4 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
- 4 medium ribs celery, coarsely chopped
- 1 pound mixed mushrooms, quartered, such as shiitake and crimini
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 sprig fresh basil, coarsely chopped
- 1 sprig fresh marjoram, coarsely chopped
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
- 1 sprig fresh thyme, coarsely chopped
- 4 cups crushed tomatoes
- 1 pound rigatoni pasta
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
- Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for serving
Method
- Place porcini mushrooms in a small shallow bowl with just enough hot water to cover. Let stand 30 minutes.
- Place onion in the bowl of a food processor; process until finely chopped. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside. Place carrots and celery in the bowl of a food processor; process until finely chopped. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside. Place mushrooms in the bowl of a food processor; process until finely chopped; set aside.
- Heat butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring, until onion begins to brown, about 7 minutes. Add carrots and celery; stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is browned, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Drain porcini mushrooms and finely chop. Add to the pot along with the chopped mushrooms. Cook stirring occasionally, until liquid is released and mushrooms are browned, about 10 minutes.
- Add tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is slightly reduced, 6 minutes. Place basil, marjoram, rosemary and thyme on a piece of cheesecloth tying with kitchen twine to enclose; add to the pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 hour.
- Add 1 cup water and continue cooking for an additional 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions, until al dente. Drain reserving some of the cooking water, if desired, and transfer to a large bowl. Add mushroom ragu and toss to combine. Stir in cheese and enough of the pasta water to form a sauce. Garnish with additional cheese and parsley.