Mushroom Bolognese

Ingredients:

1 ½ LB Oyster Mushrooms with stems, roughly chopped

1 Large Yellow Onion, finely diced

2 ½ Large Carrots, peeled and finely diced

3 Celery stalks, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced (2 tsp)

2 Tbsp Tomato Paste (1 oz)

1C Dry Red Wine

1C Half & Half

1 tsp Oregano

½ tsp Crushed Red Pepper

¾ tsp Cinnamon

½ tsp Nutmeg

1 ½ Tbsp Salt, plus more to taste

1 tsp Fresh ground black pepper

½ tsp Sugar

1 LB box dried Rigatoni

¼ C grated Parmesan for serving

1.)    Preheat oven to 400F.  Toss mushrooms with a tsp of salt and 2 tbsp of oil.  Place them on a sheet tray and bake for 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms from the oven and let them cool slightly on the tray, then finely chop.

2.)    Finely chop onion, carrots and celery while mushrooms are in the oven.

3.)    Heat a large pot on medium-high heat. Heat 2 Tbsp oil and sauté onions, celery, carrots and garlic for 4-5 minutes, stirring once or twice.  Let onions begin to brown slightly on the edges.

4.)    Add the mushrooms and tomato paste to the pan and continue cooking for 3 minutes. 

5.)    Deglaze the pan with the wine. Let your wine reduce by half, about 4-5 minutes. 

6.)    Add all your remaining ingredients and stir until well mixed. Bring this to a gentle simmer and let cook, covered, for about 30 minutes. If it looks dry, add a small amount of water. The sauce should be thick. 

7.)    While the sauce is simmering, cook your pasta according to the box directions.  Drain the pasta, reserving a ½ C of the pasta water. 

8.)    Once everything is ready, add your pasta to the sauce pot. Add a small amount of the pasta water and simmer gently for a minute.  Serve immediately, topped with freshly grated parmesan. 

Recipe courtesy of Chef Brandon Mitchell