Originally posted on Mushrooms Canada
It’s finally starting to feel like winter in Toronto and there’s nothing I love more on a chilly evening than a big bowl of comfort food. Trouble is, comfort food can sometimes heavy, so today, I’ve got a favourite comfort food dish for you – re-imagined and lightened with added mushrooms – lots of them. This is a warm, satisfying dish for the chilly nights ahead that won’t weigh you down – and it makes for awesome leftovers. What could be better?
Yield: 6-8
Mushroom ragu
Rich mushroom ragù.
Prep Time
25 minutes
Cook Time
35 minutes
Total Time
1 hour
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 medium red onions (approx. 450 g total), finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 medium carrot (150 g), diced small
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 900g mixed mushrooms, thinly sliced (if using shiitake, you can leave the smaller ones whole)
- 1 cup vegetable stock (I used mushroom)
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 250 mL (1 cup) canned diced tomatoes, not drained
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Chopped curly parsley, to serve
- Freshly grated parmesan, to serve
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a heavy pan over medium heat.
- Add the onions, garlic and thyme and cook until just the onions and garlic are starting to soften.
- Add the carrots to the pan and cook for approximately 5 minutes until carrots are just beginning to soften.
- Add the wine to the pan and cook until the wine has just about evaporated.
- Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook until they brown and soften slightly and start to release their juices.
- Add the stock, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil.
- Add the tomatoes and tomato paste and mix to combine.
- Reduce the heat to low, partially cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Season to taste, serve on top of pasta and sprinkle with a little parsley and parmesan.
What about you – what’s your favourite comfort food when it gets cold?