Monday, June 30, 2008

Comfort food for two.

The mushroom had always been mysterious food entity to me.. As a child I never understood or admired its earthy aroma, light-turned-dense texture and all around funky-fungi-ness.
Once upon my childhood I had a showdown with my dad at the dining room table because, come five o'clock, there sitting before me, was a chicken pot pie that, to my dismay, came bearing mushrooms. Rebellion set into my innermost mushroom-dismaying core and I exclaimed boldly my profound disliking for eating that which was, in my preteenaged mind, nothing more than fungus - no different than athlete's foot. Arms crossed and eyes transfixed on the pie I sat through scolding, bribing and to my utterly horrified disgust a sentence said so casually, so audaciously that to this day I have not forgotten it: "Pretend it's ice cream." Blasphemy. Never had I heard my father say something so blasphemous. After all, ice cream, the holy trinity of cream, sugar and love could not be compared to this pie which was filled with dirty fungus that some sort of animal must have walked on at one point! To my, now humble, triumph I must say I never did eat that pot pie - but spent time in my room pondering my complete lack of disrespect for ingredients and for the people in Africa who were starving because I didn't eat my pot pie.

Fortunate am I to say that time, taste and tempers change and what seems to have been a forgotten, unfavored ingredient has not only caught but captured my attention with a gumption I have never known of another.
While fingering through a cookbook by none other than Donna Hay http://www.donnahay.com.au/ I found what I could only then think of as a challenge to my taste buds: Mushroom Ragout Pappardelle.

After a quick shop for a scant 7 ingredients I was ready, perhaps not mentally, for a challenge.

Heating a frying pan over high heat I added 2 1/2 tablespoons of butter (Paula Deen would blush at the tiny amount!), 1 clove of crushed garlic and 2 teaspoons of thyme leaves, left whole and cooked this mix for approximately 30 seconds. Next I added 1 lb of baby bella mushrooms and 1/2 lb of shitake mushrooms (the recipe calls for 1 1/2 lbs mixed mushrooms, halved) and cooked for approximately 5 minutes (do not toss them in the pan - leave them alone to achieve a lovely brown color). Then I added the recommended 1 1/4 cups of beef stock and simmered until the mushrooms softened, around 4 minutes.
While all of this fungi cooking was going on I was cooking 14 ounces of Pappardelle (a wide egg noodle which took three seperate trips to grocers for me to find!) in salted boiling water, until al dente. I drained it triumphantly and of course, tasted for seasoning to check my salt content. Then I tossed the pappardelle with the mushroom/stock and placed in large pasta bowls.
You can top this with goat's cheese or parmesan, approx. 5 ounces of either, and serve.

The recipe says that this serves 4 but let me tell you, I went back twice for "seconds".

Even now all I can think of is the wasted years I spent turning up my nose at these lovely fungi-jewels! Who knew that a portabella mushroom tasted like meat? No one told me that! I love myself a steak - and what a replacement that would be! Glorious mushrooms, my lovelies, how could I forsake you? This dish was, is, the ultimate comfort food. Next time I think I will add a dash of sherry or Marsala wine.

And by the way, if you don't serve this with a nice crusty sourdough loaf.. you're as crazy as I was.


Enjoy, my darlings!