MUSHROOM RAGOUT:
- Olive Oil for cooking
- ½ White Onion, sliced thinly
- 1-pound Cremini Mushrooms, stems removed and sliced ~¼” thick
- 2 Anchovy Fillets
- 1 tablespoon Minced Fresh Tarragon
- 1 tablespoon Kalamata Olive Spread
- 1 Large Carrot, diced (~¾ cup)
- 1 can Great Northern Beans
- ¾ cup White Wine
- 1-1½ cups Mushroom Broth
- 1-2 tablespoons AP Flour (or any gluten free blend)
- Salt and Pepper
- Ricotta Salata, for garnish
- Fresh Parsley, for garnish
CRISPY PASTA:
- ½ pound Spaghetti
- Olive Oil for frying
Yield: Serve 4-6
DIRECTIONS:
FOR THE RAGOUT
1. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add onion, season with salt and pepper, then cook until softened and translucent. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. Add more oil to the pan if necessary and increase the heat to high. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, then cook until liquid is released and evaporated, 10-15 minutes, stirring often.
3. Lower the heat to medium and add anchovies, tarragon, olive spread, and carrots. Stir to combine, mashing the anchovy fillets until they disappear.
4. Add beans and reserved onions, stir to combine.
5. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour over the pan, stir to combine.
6. Add wine, stir and cook until the alcohol cooks off.
7. Add mushroom stock, stir to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
8. If the sauce isn’t thick enough, sprinkle more flour on top and stir to combine.
9. Reserve sauce, keeping it warm, while you prepare the pasta.
FOR THE PASTA
1. Cook pasta according to package instructions, erring on the side of al dente instead of a softer pasta.
2. Remove pasta from cooking water, drain in mesh sieve.
3. Place hot pasta on dinner plate and let it set for at least 10 minutes. The pasta will become tacky/sticky and begin to congeal into a disc, that is precisely what you want.
4. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over high heat.
5. Slide pasta disc into hot pan and fry for 6-8 minutes on the first side. Shake pan constantly until pasta begins to stick together, using a spatula to release and stuck bits as it fries.
6. Check the bottom of the pasta disc and when it’s toasted and golden flip it over to fry the second side. Cook the second side for 3-4 minutes.
7. Top pasta with ragout, letting the sauce sizzle in the pan.
8. Garnish with parsley and crumbles of ricotta salata, serve in skillet.
Recipe by Dan Kohler, 12/16/2019