Mushroom Ragout

A delicious and fragrant mushroom sauce that goes perfectly over pasta or homemade croutons.

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 30 min

Cooking Time: 30 min

Total:  60 min

Ingredients

15 g dried porcini mushrooms
2 1/2 cups water, divided
600 g mixed fresh mushrooms (white, crimini, portebello, etc), cleaned and cut into chunks or slices
4-5 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
2 celery sticked, sliced
3 thyme sprigs
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp. fresh tarragon, chopped
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper

Directions

1. Place porcini mushrooms in a bowl and cover with just over 3/4 cup water. Allow to soak for 30 minutes.
2. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan. Add some fresh mushrooms, leaving them to cook for 1-2 minutes without stirring. Once lightly browned, stir, turning them over and cook for another minute.
3. Transfer cooked mushrooms to a large bowl and set aside. Continue until all the fresh mushrooms have been cooked. Set mushroom bowl aside.
4. Add a bit more oil to the pan if necessary and saute onions, carrots and celery on medium heat for 5 minutes, without browning. Add wine to pan and allow it bubble away for a minute.
5. Remove porcini mushrooms from the soaking liquid and squeeze out excess liquid. Add soaking liquid to pan, leaving behind any grit at the bottom of the bowl.
6. Add remaining 1 3/4 cups water, thyme and salt and simmer for 20 minutes, creating a vegetable stock that has reduced to about half the liquid.
7. Strain stock and set vegetables aside. Discard vegetables or reuse by blending them into a vegetable soup or sauce.
8. Heat homemade stock and add all the mushrooms, sour cream, tarragon, parsley, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
9. Serve immediately atop freshly made pasta or handful of homemade croutons.

Lightly adapted from Ottolenghi's Plenty (2010).