Mushroom Ragu

A tasty mushroom ragu, mushroom and tomato sauce served with pasta!

I am a huge fan of mushrooms and of Italian style pasta sauces including ragu sauces (aka meat sauces), and this mushroom ragu is a tasty sauce using mushrooms as the ‘meat’! This recipe uses plenty of fresh mushrooms as the base of the sauce along with some dried and reconstituted mushrooms, which bring a more intense mushroom flavour! From there it’s a pretty basic Italian tomato base sauce with onion, carrots, and celery as the aromatic veggies, followed by garlic, tomato paste and plenty of herbs: thyme, sage, rosemary, and oregano. Tomatoes and broth are added to finish off the ingredients and everything is simmered to bring out the flavours! This mushroom ragu is great over pasta, rice, etc.

Mushroom Ragu

Prep Time: 15 minutes Soak Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 45 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes Servings: 6

A tasty mushroom ragu, mushroom and tomato sauce served with pasta!

ingredients

1 ounce dried mushrooms (optional)
1 tablespoon oil
2 pounds mushrooms, sliced, diced, or chopped
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup onion, finely diced
1 cup carrot, finely diced
1 cup celery, finely diced
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon thyme, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon sage, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon rosemary, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon oregano, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 cup chicken broth (link)(or vegetable broth or white wine)
1 (28 ounce) can tomatoes, crushed by hand
2 bay leaves
8 ounces pasta (gluten-free for gluten-free)
salt and pepper to taste

directions

Boil 1/2 cup water, pour over the dried mushrooms, and let them soak until tender, about 20 minutes, before squeezing the liquid out of them, reserving the liquid, and chopping the mushrooms.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes, before setting aside.
Heat the oil in the pan, add the mushrooms and cook until the juices have been released, and cooked off and the mushrooms start to brown, about 15 minutes.
Add the garlic, tomato paste, thyme, sage, rosemary, and oregano, mix and cook for 1 minute.
Add the broth and deglaze the pan by scraping up and brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon as the broth simmers.
Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, start cooking the pasta as directed on the package.
Remove the bay leaves from the sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste!
Drain the cooked pasta and mix into the mushroom ragu and enjoy!

Option: Add 1/4 pound pancetta, chopped. Start by cooking the pancetta, set it aside and use the grease to cook the veggies, and then add the pancetta back to the sauce to simmer.
Option: Add 1-2 anchovy fillets, chopped/minced, to the sauce, along with the garlic!
Option: Add 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, along with the garlic.
Option: Add 1 piece of parmesan rind to the sauce while it simmers, removing it before serving.
Option: Add 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar to the sauce as it simmers.
Option: Add 1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream (or mascarpone), at the end.
Option: Add 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan cheese), grated (or pecorin or asiago), at the end, mixing it into the sauce and letting it melt.