Mushrooms, Sausage Ragu with Polenta

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 1 30

Total Time: 1 40

Servings: people

I decided to use a mix of dry and fresh mushrooms for this recipe. And only sausage meat. Great combination. But as I mentioned early on, any meat will do.

Ingredients

RAGU

10 ounces sausage meat
⅓ cup pancetta, chopped
5 ounces Shimeji mushrooms
1 ounce dry porcini, soaked in 2 cups of hot water for 20 minutes
2 bay leaves
1 cup red wine, + more if needed it
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 onion, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and hard end removed
½ cup parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup chicken stock
½ cup mushrooms soaking water
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese

POLENTA

2 quarts water
2 cups instant polenta
salt

US - Metric

Instructions

TO PREPARE THE MUSHROOMS RAGU

In a heavy large enamel cast iron pot heat the olive oil the garlic over medium heat. Once the garlic is brown, but not burned, remove and discard.
Add the onions, parsley, and carrots, and mix well. When the onions are translucent, add the sausage meat and pancetta, and separate them well with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the tomato paste and mix well.
Cook the meats until all the liquid is evaporated.
Add the bay leaves, red wine, chopped porcini mushrooms, Chinese mushrooms half of the strained mushrooms liquid. Mix well.
Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Mix well, lower the heat to simmer, cover, and cook stirring occasionally for 1 hour to 1 ½ hours.
Taste and adjust the salt and pepper to your liking. Add more wine if too dry. Cook uncovered for another 30 minutes.
Remove the bay leaves before serving.

TO MAKE POLENTA

Bring the water to a boil. Gradually add the polenta and whisk vigorously to prevent lumps from forming. Change to a wooden spoon and continue to stir until it becomes thicker, around 6 minutes.

ASSEMBLE

Remove the polenta from the heat and place on a plate or platter. Add the mushrooms ragu over it. Sprinkle a very generous amount of parmesan cheese over it.
Serve hot and immediately.

Nutrition

Giangi's Kitchen provides nutritional information, but these figures should be considered estimates, as a registered dietician does not calculate them.