Cook Like a Rock Star (20 page)

SERVES: 4 TO 6 • TIME: ABOUT 1 HOUR

When I was working in Tuscany during porcini season I always wanted to go foraging for mushrooms, but the Italians are so secretive about where they find their prized porcini that I could never convince anyone to take me with them. So, while I never got to go hunting for fresh porcini, I did learn how to use dried ones to make this gorgeous sauce.

If you’ve never used them before, dried porcini are a fantastic way to add a huge bump of mushroomy goodness to almost anything. And, because you have to soak them first, you get the added benefit of the fastest, most flavorful vegetarian stock ever; one that you can then add to your sauce to give it an even richer, earthier boost of flavor—just like I do here.

MISE EN PLACE

½ cup dried porcini mushrooms

Extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, cut into ¼-inch dice

Pinch of crushed red pepper

Kosher salt

2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped

2 pounds assorted fresh mushrooms (porcini, shiitake, oyster, and cremini are all great), trimmed, cleaned, and cut into bite-size pieces

1 cup dry white wine

1 to 2 cups
chicken or veggie stock

1 thyme bundle, tied with butcher’s twine

1 bay leaf

1
Soak the porcini in 3 cups hot water until very soft, about 30 minutes.

2
Coat a large wide saucepan generously with olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Add the onion and red pepper and season with salt; cook until the onion is soft and aromatic, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more.

3
Add the fresh mushrooms, season with salt, and sauté until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the wine and continue cooking until reduced by half, 5 to 6 minutes more.

4
Using your hand, scoop the porcini out of the soaking water, being careful not to disturb the water—you want the crud to stay settled. Put the porcini in a food processor, ladle in about ½ cup of the soaking liquid, and purée to a very smooth paste.

5
Add the porcini paste, 2 cups of the porcini water, and 1 cup of the stock to the pan; toss in the thyme bundle and the bay leaf. Taste and season with salt if needed. Bring the liquid to a boil (BTB) and reduce to a simmer (RTS). Simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, adding more stock if needed; this sauce should be saucy but not soupy. Remove the thyme bundle and bay leaf before serving. Serve tossed with pasta or gnocchi or over polenta.

That’s a wild funghi!

Sweet & Spicy Sausage Ragù

SERVES: 4 TO 6 • TIME: ABOUT 4 HOURS, MOSTLY UNATTENDED

Years ago, I was working at a tiny restaurant in Tuscany. This is where I first learned to make ragù—an unbelievably delicious sauce that I would let cook for hours and hours. But in the beginning, no matter how long I let it simmer, the owner would come over, taste it, and tell me the vegetables were raw! In my head I remember thinking, are you freaking kidding me? But he was right. I was skimping on an essential step—I was rushing the browning of the soffritto: the early stage in a ragù’s life cycle when the flavor begins to build and deepen. Now, of course, I’m super-sensitive to this step, and when I taste a ragù in a restaurant, I can tell instantly if the chef has taken a shortcut at the browning stage. So be patient—if you’re taking the time and effort to make this spectacular sauce, don’t rush it; brown it and enjoy!

MISE EN PLACE

2 onions, cut into 1-inch dice

1 small fennel bulb, tops and tough middle stalk removed, cut into 1-inch dice

2 celery ribs, cut into 1-inch dice

3 cloves garlic, smashed

Extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

2 cups tomato paste

2 cups hearty red wine

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

1 pound spicy Italian sausage, casings removed

2 bay leaves

1 thyme bundle, tied with butcher’s twine

1 pound spaghetti

½ to ¾ cup freshly grated Parmigiano

Big fat finishing oil

1
Put the onions, fennel, celery, and garlic in a food processor and purée to a coarse paste.

2
Coat a wide, deep pan with olive oil, add the puréed veggies, season with salt, and bring to medium-high heat. Cook the veggies until all the liquid has evaporated and they begin to stick to the pan—you want to brown the crap out of these guys until crud starts to form on the bottom of the pan. Stir occasionally to scrape up the brown bits, then let the crud form again. Be patient here and don’t rush it—this is where the big flavor develops—it will take up to 30 minutes.

3
When the lovely brown crud has formed and been scraped down a couple of times, add the tomato paste, stirring to combine. Let it start to
brown a little and continue stirring for 2 to 3 minutes. There’s not much liquid at this point to keep things from burning, so be careful and move fast. Add the wine, stir to combine, and scrape up any remaining brown bits; cook until about half the wine has evaporated, 4 to 5 minutes.

4
Add both the sweet and the spicy sausage and, using a spoon to break it up, cook until the meat is brown (this is where another round of big brown flavors is formed, so take your time), 10 to 15 minutes.

5
Add enough water to the pan to cover the meat by about ½ inch. Stir to combine well and add the bay leaves and the thyme bundle. Taste, season with salt, and taste again—it’s by no means done, but it should taste good. Bring the sauce to a boil (BTB) and reduce to a simmer (RTS). Continue cooking, checking occasionally, for 3 hours,
tasting, seasoning, and adding more water as needed
.

6
During the last half hour of the cooking process, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 1 minute less than the instructions on the package suggest. Taste it: It should be toothsome with just a little nugget of hard pasta still in the center—this is al dente. Drain, reserving ½ cup of the pasta cooking water. Remove the thyme bundle and bay leaf from the sauce. Then remove half of the ragù from the pan and reserve. Immediately add the cooked pasta to the pan with the ragù and toss to combine, adding more of the reserved ragù or pasta water if needed; continue cooking for another couple of minutes, until the pasta and sauce cling together and the liquid has reduced.

7
Remove the pot from the heat and add the Parmigiano and a generous drizzle of the big fat finishing oil. Toss the pasta and sauce vigorously—this is the marriage of the pasta and sauce, and the cheese and olive oil are the glue that holds this lovely relationship together.

Call yourself a superstar!

WELCOME TO THE DANCE!

The browning that takes place in the beginning of this ragù recipe—as for all sauces and braises—helps develop the deep, rich, brown flavors we want. Then the dance begins! By adding water and then reducing it, the brown flavors dance with the water, developing personality and complexity. If you add all the water in the beginning, the personality of the ragù will be watery and boring. If you don’t add enough water, or the ragù isn’t cooked long enough, the personality will be thick and one-dimensional. The dance should take about 3 hours. As you taste the ragù throughout the cooking process, you’ll see the amazing changes in its personality. Stir occasionally, taste, season, and continue to add more water as the ragù cooks down. Enjoy the way your house smells—be patient and have fun!

SERVES: 4 TO 6 • TIME: ABOUT 30 MINUTES

Eggs, bacon, and cheese, oh my! After a long shift in the kitchen and a few glasses of wine, carbonara is a chef’s late-night favorite. It’s fast, flavorful, and oh-so-satisfying. The thing is, as much as I love it, carbonara poses a bit of a dichotomy for me because while it involves some of my very favorite ingredients (eggs, bacon, and cheese), it also includes my nemesis: black pepper. The thing is, this is such a classic preparation that black pepper really belongs here—so I use it.

MISE EN PLACE

Kosher salt

Extra virgin olive oil

¾ cup pancetta, cut into ¼-inch dice

1 pound spaghetti

8 large eggs

½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano

½ cup freshly grated Pecorino

Freshly ground black pepper

4 scallions, green parts only, cut into 1-inch lengths on a severe bias

1
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Coat a large skillet with olive oil and bring it to medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to color and become crisp, 6 to 8 minutes; remove from the heat.

2
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute less than the instructions on the package suggest. Taste it: It should be toothsome with just a little nugget of hard pasta still in the center—this is al dente.

3
While the pasta is cooking, crack the eggs into a large bowl and add the grated Parm and Pecorino; season with salt and whisk vigorously until well combined. Season with black pepper—seriously, this is one place where pepper brings something special to the party!

4
Bring the pan with the pancetta back to medium heat. Drain the pasta, add it to the pan, and coat it with any fat in the skillet. Remove the pan from the heat, add the egg mixture to the pasta, and stir vigorously to combine. Cover and let sit for 1 to 2 minutes so the steam gently cooks the eggs. Uncover and stir again—the egg mixture will seem like a cream sauce. Serve immediately garnished with sliced scallions.

Buonissimo!

A great carbonara is all about timing: render the pancetta, cook the pasta, and toss it all together while everything is screaming hot—this will ensure the eggs are cooked ever-so-gently.