8ozfresh shiitake mushrooms, or substitute wild mushrooms thickly sliced
30gramsroughly 1 cup dried wild mushrooms, like porcini
1large clove of garlicthinly sliced
¼cupdry white wine
¼cupcooking oillike olive
½teaspoonsea saltplus more to taste
2cupsvegetable or meat stockor water
¼cupthinly sliced shallot or red onion
1teaspoonchopped fresh thyme or rosemary
2one-inch thick strips of lemon zestpeeled with a vegetable peeler
Instructions
Rehydrate the mushrooms in 1 cup of stock or water, then agitate to remove grit, remove the mushrooms and coarsely chop, then strain the stock and reserve.
Sweat the shallot and garlic in the oil for 2-3 minutes, then add the fresh mushrooms, herbs, salt and pepper and cook until the mushrooms are wilted. Add the rehydrated, dried mushrooms.
Add the wine, cook until reduced by half, then add the mushroom liquid, lemon zest and reserved stock and cook for 15 minutes, or until the mushrooms are completely cooked.
Discard the lemon zest, cool and store in the fridge.
Serving
To reheat the ragu and serve by itself, I like to whisk in a little unsalted butter or heavy cream to thicken it slightly and add body, but, it can be nice all by itself, like if you’re serving it alongside a bowl of freshly cooked polenta. To refresh the flavor, hit it with a dash of fresh lemon juice before serving.
The ragu will last for 5 days in the fridge and can also be frozen for long term storage.
Notes
Originally this recipe was perfumed with a sprig of rosemary and whole halves of lemon. Since this is a very small batch, I use a more focused amount of herbs and lemon zest here to make sure the flavor comes through. Feel free to adjust things around a bit, but I wouldn't remove the herbs, shallot or lemon since they're part of what give this recipe it's character.