MUSHROOM RAGU

Self Sufficient Dinners

A rich deep and wonderful moorish mushroom ragu tossed through beautiful homemade spaghetti pasta, this is one of those comfort dinners, simple to make and delivers so much more on your plate and for us a self sufficient family we are really pleased that almost all the ingredients are from our family garden, just the 00 flour for the pasta and a couple of ingredients added by choice is all that we did not produce, well not yet!

Prep Time 30 mins / Cooking Time 30 minutes plus min 1 hour resting (optional)  

Ingredients

(serves 2)

MUSHROOM RAGU

1 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil

2 tbsp butter

1 kg chestnut mushrooms finely chopped

1 onion finely chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 chilli finely sliced

100ml Marsala, Madeira, red or white wine

200ml vegetable stock

10 fresh tomato's or 1 tin chopped

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp fresh thyme

1/2 tsp fresh marjoram

1 tbsp fresh parsley

1/2 tsp sugar (optional)

1/4 tsp turmeric

THE PASTA

(store bought or...make your own)

400g 00 flour

4 eggs

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp sea salt

Semolina for dusting

10g sea salt for the pasta cooking water

First make the ragu as this needs to rest to enhance the flavours, you can eat this ragu as soon as it is made but this is one of those dishes that tastes even better a few hours old or the next day.  Heat the butter and oil in a pan and gently soften the onion and garlic for 10 minutes then add the mushrooms and cook for a further 10 minutes until soft, add the Marsala or wine and bubble away for a couple of minutes to reduce slightly, then add the rest of the ingredients and gently simmer on a really low heat for at least one hour if you can while you make the pasta.  When ready to serve the sauce should be medium thick, if it is not turn up the heat to reduce any liquid stock, unless you like your sauces a little more soupy.

To make the pasta season the flour with the salt and turn out on to your work top and make a well in the centre, mix the eggs and olive oil and pour in to the center, start to work the flour in to the egg mix from the outside, keep working the flour in until you form a dough and then start to knead the dough until smooth, around 7-10 minutes, wrap in parchment paper and  rest in the fridge for around 1 hour, you can make this dough the day before, if you do keep the dough in a air tight container.

I have what I call a pasta gun!  It is a long tube that has a bronze cut die on the end that produces fabulous spaghetti with a rough edge from the bronze die that makes the pasta hold the sauce so much better.  Dust your work surface with semolina to stop the pasta from sticking while you work.  You can alternatively roll out the pasta dough and cut thin strips there is no wrong way to make your pasta, have fun and create.  To cook your gorgeous fresh pasta...

Bring a large pan up to a simmering roll, season with the salt, this is so important and makes a huge difference to the overall taste of your finished pasta, cook until al dente, soft with a hint of a bite, approx 8-10 minutes, bring your mushroom ragu up to a hot heat, drain the pasta off and add to your ragu along with a ladle of the cooking water, toss well and serve immediately and enjoy.