With the COVID, we have been staying home and staying safe. We are a bit (or maybe a lot) more careful than others, and so we really haven’t gone out much at all. Which is a sad reality, especially for avid foodies like us… But, we don’t have to dine out to get some delicious food, right? So, I have been brushing up on my cooking skills at home! I joined a virtual cooking class led by chef Marc Murphy in January to learn how to cook Sunday Sauce with Porcini Mushrooms and Italian Sausage. It was sooooo good, that I thought I share the recipe with you!
This recipe makes about 4 servings, and takes about 1 hour or so of cooking time. And it is a versatile recipe, you can make it into “your” own Sunday Sauce! But here is the ingredients for “Marc Murphy’s Sunday Sauce”
INGREDIENTS
1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms, soaked
1 1/2 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1lb. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
8 oz. white button mushrooms, cut in half and sliced
1 (28 oz.) can Tuttorosso San Marzano Style Hand Crushed Tomatoes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 box (1 lb) fusilli pasta
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Special equipment: paper towel or coffee filter
I couldn’t find Hand Crushed kind of Tuttorosso San Marzano Style, so I got Whole Peeled kind instead. You can just crush them yourself when the time comes… You can use other varieties, but make sure to get the Tuttorosso brand, as they are THE best! If you like having the Italian Sausage with the casing, you can just slice the sausages too.
Now, the first thing you want to do is to soak the dried porcini in hot water. Place the porcini in a bowl, and pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water over them. Let them stand for about 10 minutes. I just left them in the hot water until I needed them. If you are wondering why “dried” porcini, good question! The dried porcini has more of a concentrated, deep flavor, that goes great with this dish. And make sure to keep that hot water afterwards, we are going to use it all!
Get your heavy bottom pot that can spread the heat evenly throughout the pan. I used my beloved Dutch Oven for this. Add olive oil and cook onions and garlic until the onions are translucent. It is important that you don’t rush the onions! As chef Murphy said, wait until the onions are all happy in their hot tub (LOL). Add sausage and continue to cook over medium-high heat until fat has been rendered.
While the sausage is cooking, remove the porcini from the hot water (I used my clean hands for this). The hot water should be not-so-hot at this point, but be careful before you put your hands in there! Grab all the porcini in your hands, give them a nice squeeze to remove as much water as possible. As most of the dried porcini comes in different (large) sizes, chop them up so that they are roughly the same size (to your preference). Remember to reserve all the mushroom water that are left in the bowl!
Add the button mushrooms and porcini to the pot and cook until mushrooms start to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the Tuttorosso Tomatoes to the pot. Don’t throw away the empty can! We are going to use it next… I crushed the whole tomatoes with my wooden spatula in the pot at this point.
Use a paper towel or coffee filter and strain the porcini water. There will be some dirt on the bottom of the water, and you don’t want to add that to your delicious dish… I placed a paper towel on a strainer to do this. Pour the filtered mushroom water into the empty tomato can, swirl to get all the goodness that are left in the can, and pour out into the pot. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cook on low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can get them cooking for much longer if you want, just simmer for an hour or two, to get more intense flavor! Just make sure you are stirring them occasionally so that the bottom won’t get burnt.
While your sauce is cooking, cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until tender, yet firm (al dente). The pasta will continue to cook a little bit in the sauce. Strain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of pasta water. When the pasta is about done, add heavy cream to the sauce and mix well. Add the pasta to the sauce. If needed, add a little pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to thin the sauce.
Add half the cheese, mixing to combine. Serve with remaining cheese for sprinkling on top. And there you have it! Sunday Sauce is done! You can serve with some garlic bread, side salad, and of course, a glass of wine, and you have a fabulous dinner!
Speaking of wine, you can add a splash of wine into the sauce at the beginning too. If you want some green in it, you can add some fresh spinach at the end. If you want to make it vegetarian, just omit the sausage and add more mushrooms. You can really make this any way you want!
It was easier than expected to create this dish, and it was amazing! I would order at a restaurant for sure! We loved it so much, we couldn’t get enough! I will continue to put on my (invisible) chef hat on, and cook up more delicious food at home until we can get back to our normal lives again… But it is fun to try new dishes and polish up on my cooking skills! It is going to take all of us being safe to get rid of this virus, so let’s continue to stay safe! In a meanwhile, what are you cooking up at your home?