Killer Porcini Mushroom Tomato Sauce: Satisfying Vegetarian for a Crowd

When you make dinner for nine people in a tiny apartment (or anywhere), it is not always perfect. The lasagna noodles may overcook and turn out a bit floppy, and you may run out of cheese for the topping. The pictures may be blurry and messy. But it's really just lucky you have enough chairs. And your guests are enjoying meeting each other, and there's plenty of wine.


While I'm not going to instruct you to recreate this exact lasagna, I wanted to share with you the recipe for the sauce I used. Because it's killer. It's earthy and deeply flavored, with the richness and strength of a heavy meat sauce, without any of the meat. Dried porcini mushrooms and their soaking liquid, along with an entire bottle of wine turn regular marinara into dinner-party material. It impressed vegetarians and carnivores alike. And this is not just a lasagna ingredient: this would be great on gnocchi or tagliatelle or piled onto shredded spaghetti squash and/or bitter greens.

Set aside a day to make this giant pot of sauce, and save it in portions in your freezer for a quick meal. It can simmer all day, and your patience will be rewarded.

A few notes on ingredients: I used an inexpensive ($5) Shiraz for this. Be sure to taste a sip to make sure the bottle is good before adding it to your sauce. Because wouldn't it be sad if the wine ruined it all! Also, I added one jar of pre-made Barilla marinara to the sauce base. I realize this is cheating, but I find it evens out the edges a little, and provides a neutral base for your fresh flavorings.


Killer Porcini Mushroom Tomato Sauce

1 oz porcini mushrooms
2 cups water
2 yellow onions, chopped
1/2 T fennel seeds
2 T tomato paste
6 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 large portobello mushroom, chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 bottle dry red wine (I used Shiraz)
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1 jar (24 oz) prepared marinara sauce (I used Barilla)
1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves

Soak porcini mushrooms in 2 cups boiling water for 30 minutes. Rinse porcini and chop, saving liquid. Pour liquid through a strainer lined with a paper towel to remove dirt and save. Meanwhile, saute onions in a large (at least 6 quart) heavy dutch oven over medium low, stirring often, about 20 minutes until translucent and beginning to color. Add fennel seeds and tomato paste, stir and let caramelize for a minute. Add garlic, rosemary, basil, and portobello mushroom, saute 1 minute more. Add a pinch of salt and several grinds of fresh pepper along with red pepper flakes.

Pour 2 cups of wine into the pan to deglaze, stir and scrape browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until wine evaporates. Add both cans of tomatoes and their liquid along with prepared marinara. Add chopped porcini along with half their liquid. Let simmer (it should be just lightly bubbling) until reduced slightly, about 20 minutes, then add another cup of wine and the remaining porcini liquid. Continue cooking and adding wine a cup at a time until entire bottle has been added. This could take an hour.

Let simmer on very low heat at least 2 more hours and up to six, stirring occasionally. When ready to serve, stir in fresh oregano leaves. Taste for seasoning.

it's an epidemic! tilapia with slow-roasted tomatoes.

Before I begin: remember what I said about how Maggie and I seem to be on the same culinary wavelength? Remember? Well. It's happened again. WHILE I WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COUNTRY. I can think of three explanations for this:

1. Genius is coast to coast.
2. Maggie and I are joined at the brain.
3. Memes are actually airborne.

Take your pick.

Now! Having said that, let's talk tomatoes and tilapia. I made this little delight as a sort of farewell to the bay area--a last meal on the way out of town. (Also to make sure that R didn't regret putting us up for a night and then driving us to the airport after a fuel truck explosion shut down the 880.) The inspiration came squarely from my mother and her prodigious tomato patch, widely and intimidatingly grown from the time we planted it who knows how many years ago.



This once feeble little patch is all grown up. It looms. It lurks. It has taken over an entire quadrant of the garden, and provides my mother with more tomatoes than she has any clue what to do with. And, not just any tomatoes--some of the sweetest, most delightful little lycopene bombs you could ever hope to meet. When we arrived in Sonoma county, every available surface in my mother's huge kitchen was covered in the bounty--tomatoes as far as the eye could see. We spent four days snacking prodigiously upon them, and our exit visas were contingent upon bringing a tub of them with us.

Though we did actually entertain the notion of bringing them all the way back to the east coast with us, logic ultimately prevailed and we decided to use them to cook for R instead of trying to haul them through airport security (I mean, what if they didn't survive the flight? Or were confiscated? IT DOESN'T BEAR THINKING ABOUT). So, this is what we came up with: it's flavorful, healthy, and with a little advance planning could easily be adapted for a ludicrously quick weekday dinner. Win!



Baked tilapia with slow-roasted tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes (at least a pint)
3-4 medium shallots, finely diced
handful fresh basil, roughly torn
3-4 tilapia fillets
red wine vinegar
1 tbsp butter
olive oil
salt
pepper

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees F. Halve the larger tomatoes, but leave the smaller ones (i.e., anything that would be difficult to slice in half) whole; toss them into a baking dish and drizzle them with a little olive oil. Bake for two hours (or more!)--until they are withered and sweet and irresistible.
2. When the tomatoes are done, remove them from the oven and crank up the heat to about 375 degrees. Coat the tilapia with a little olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Bake for about eight minutes, or until the flesh is firm and opaque.
3. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat; using the butter, saute the shallots until they are translucent; turn off the heat, and add the tomatoes, basil, and a little salt and pepper (and another glug of red wine vinegar, if you're feeling festive).
4. Serve the tomato sauce over the tilapia; it goes nicely with some couscous and sauteed spinach.