Fresh egg noodles with a beef and morel mushroom sauce.
Feel free to use your favorite fresh pasta recipe, or you could try the small batch I list below that's tried and true. I made large penne shapes here, but any old shape or noodle you like would be fine.
1lbgrass fed beef chuckchopped roughly into ¼ inch pieces or snipped with a scissors.
2small cloves of garlicminced
½tablespoontomato paste
¼cupcarrots diced ¼ inch
¼cupcelery diced ¼ inch
¼cuponion diced ¼ inch
2cupsbeef stockpreferably homemade
1ouncedried morel mushrooms
½cupdried red wine
3tablespoonsunsalted butter
Kosher salt and pepper
1Teaspoonfresh chopped Italian parsley
Fresh grated grana padano or parmigianofor serving
Pasta (optional ¼ cup semolina flour¾ cup all-purpose flour¼ teaspoon sea salt1 large eggs beaten⅛ c. warm water
¼ cup semolina flour
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1large egg
2 tablespoons warm water
Instructions
Pasta
Combine the flours and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with the egg and mix, slowly drizzling in the water until a rough dough forms.
Continue to work the dough until it comes together, about 5-10 minutes on the lowest speed setting. When the dough cleans the sides of the bowl and comes together in a solid mass, remove it from the mixer and allow to rest, wrapped in plastic for 30 minutes.
Alternately, pile the flour and salt into a mound on a cutting board and make a well in the center, then add the eggs and mix together with a fork, gradually adding the water as needed and working the mixture with your hands.
Morel Ragu
Re-hydrate the morels in water to cover for 30 minutes. Agitate the morels in their liquid to dislodge dirt, then remove them from their liquid, strain the liquid through a coffee filter, and reserve the two separately. Roughly chop the morels.
Heat the butter in a deep sided saute pan with a lid, add the vegetables and garlic and cook slowly on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
Add the beef and cook 10 minutes more, seasoning with salt and pepper. Finally add the tomato paste, stir and cook for another 10 minutes. Add the wine and cook down until evaporated. Add the stock, morels and their strained liquid and cook covered with the lid ajar for 1 hour on low heat, or until the meat is tender.
Double check the seasoning for salt and pepper, then serve immediately, tossing the sauce with the pasta, parsley and butter, garnishing with parmesan. OR refrigerate the sauce and cool, uncovered in a labeled, dated container. When the sauce is cooled, cover it.
Notes
Substitutions
You can use dried morels, or other mushrooms like black trumpet mushrooms here that rehydrate well.