Sugo ai Funghi
from Italian Traditional Food

Pasta sauce with porcini mushrooms

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Sugo ai funghi is simply a pasta sauce made with mushrooms, in this case porcini. The meaty texture and nutty flavour of the porcini mushroom lends itself to a variety of dishes but especially so to sugo ai funghi.

The authentic flavour of the porcini mushrooms is especially popular in Italian cooking were they are added to pasta, sauces (sugo ai funghi), risotto, soups, stuffing, and casseroles. Sugo ai funghi sauce is ideal over any kind of pasta or polenta.

Preparing fresh porcini:

To clean fresh porcini mushrooms, remove all signs of the roots and earth at the base of the stalk. Then brush the porcini cap with a soft brush or a slightly damp cloth. Do not soak them as they will absorb the water, which will be given off during the cooking process, resulting in a soggy mess.

Once cleaned, just dice them and they are ready for use.

Preparing dried porcini:

Place the porcini mushrooms in a small bowl. Cover them with hot water and let them soak until they are softened, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Drain them (reserving 1 cup of the liquid), then squeeze them to remove any excess liquid. Gently pat them dry with some kitchen tissue paper. Roughly chop them.

Strain the liquid through a muslin bag or fine mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter to remove any traces of sand and grit. Fresh porcini mushrooms are difficult to find, so use the dried ones as a substitute. They will give the same texture and earthy, full-bodied flavour.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1/2 lb porcini mushroom (cleaned & diced) or 2 oz of prepared dried porcini
1 can (400grams/16 oz) Italian plum peeled tomatoes (chopped)
salt and pepper(to taste)
3 tablespoons olive oil

Method:

1. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan.

2. Add the fresh porcini mushrooms.

3. Cook over high heat until they give off their moisture

4. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mushroom liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes.

NOTE:

(If you are using the prepared dried porcini mushrooms, all you have to do is heat up the olive oil over a medium heat, add the mushrooms and simmer until their liquid has evaporated). Then add the cup of filtered mushroom liquid and continue with Step 5.

5. Stir in the contents of the can of tomatoes including the tomato juice.

6. Check for seasoning.

7. Continue simmering (uncovered) until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. The liquid will be much reduced and the mushroom bits will be very tender. Should it dry out while simmering, sprinkle it with some dry white wine.

8. Check for seasoning again.

9. To serve, spoon the sauce over your chosen pasta in individual plates.

Tip:

1. I have seen recipes for this sauce using garlic, onions, peppers and all sorts of seasonings but all they do is detract from the flavour of the porcini mushrooms. Sugo ai funghi should be a very simple sauce flavoured with the porcini mushrooms and nothing else!

2. A little of this pasta sauce goes a long way. Do not smother the pasta with the sauce, rather compliment it.

3. It should be served without Parmesan cheese as this too, will impair the flavour of the porchini mushrooms.

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