Tonight's project: Porcini Mushroom Sauce
Periodically, I make up a big batch of pasta sauce so I have some around whenever I feel like making pasta. I freeze it in batches, and each portion yields about 2 servings when I thaw it out. I'm made my last batch in late September, and I'm down to my last portion of it. As I'm planning to make fresh pasta soon, now that I have the roller attachment for my KitchenAid mixer, I thought it was time to make another batch.
Ingredients:
10 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 carrot, finely chopped
1oz dried porcini mushrooms
1lb baby bella mushrooms, finely chopped
3 large heirloom tomatoes (I use my favorite, UglyRipe), skinned and finely chopped.
1 28oz can whole tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
About 6oz red wine
Olive oil
Salt, pepper, basil, oregano
2-3 bay leaves
Soak the porcini mushrooms in almost boiling water for 15-20 minutes, then drain off, RESERVING THE STOCK. That is the best part of this whole thing! Squeeze the juice out of the porcinis and then chop them up.
Put the can of whole tomatoes into a blender and blend coarsely (or finer, to taste).
From there, it's simple enough, if time consuming. There's a LOT of chopping involved. Saute the onions and garlic together in olive oil, remove. Saute the baby bella mushrooms until deep brown and highly aromatic, salting as you go. Add the onions and garlic back in, the porcinis, the finely chopped fresh tomatoes, tomato paste, the porcini stock that you saved, red wine, diced carrot, blended tomatoes, and bay leaves.
Salt, pepper to taste, and add a healthy dash of basil and oregano to taste.
Bring to a boil, then turn down to a low simmer.
Simmer for 2-3 hours or so, stirring every 15 minutes or so, and scraping down the sides, adding vegetable stock if it gets to gloppy, until the whole thing rather suddenly turns to a ruddy brownish color, and the whole thing takes on a nice gravy like texture.
I ladle this into 8oz freezer bags once it cools down, and freeze all but a couple of them, in case I want to use some within a week or so.
Ingredients:
10 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 carrot, finely chopped
1oz dried porcini mushrooms
1lb baby bella mushrooms, finely chopped
3 large heirloom tomatoes (I use my favorite, UglyRipe), skinned and finely chopped.
1 28oz can whole tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
About 6oz red wine
Olive oil
Salt, pepper, basil, oregano
2-3 bay leaves
Soak the porcini mushrooms in almost boiling water for 15-20 minutes, then drain off, RESERVING THE STOCK. That is the best part of this whole thing! Squeeze the juice out of the porcinis and then chop them up.
Put the can of whole tomatoes into a blender and blend coarsely (or finer, to taste).
From there, it's simple enough, if time consuming. There's a LOT of chopping involved. Saute the onions and garlic together in olive oil, remove. Saute the baby bella mushrooms until deep brown and highly aromatic, salting as you go. Add the onions and garlic back in, the porcinis, the finely chopped fresh tomatoes, tomato paste, the porcini stock that you saved, red wine, diced carrot, blended tomatoes, and bay leaves.
Salt, pepper to taste, and add a healthy dash of basil and oregano to taste.
Bring to a boil, then turn down to a low simmer.
Simmer for 2-3 hours or so, stirring every 15 minutes or so, and scraping down the sides, adding vegetable stock if it gets to gloppy, until the whole thing rather suddenly turns to a ruddy brownish color, and the whole thing takes on a nice gravy like texture.
I ladle this into 8oz freezer bags once it cools down, and freeze all but a couple of them, in case I want to use some within a week or so.