Pappardelle with Mushroom Ragout
I have been stumbling across photos of pappardelle with ragout on Instagram and online recently, and I get stuck on them every time. This dish looks like pure comfort! I finally made a vegan version a few weeks ago and cooked the ragout with mushrooms. And oh my goodness, this pasta tastes like a bed of mushrooms that I don't want to get up from, wrapped up under a warming blanket of pappardelle! Wow!
If you're now thinking that you need ten different types of mushrooms or that you need to go out into the forest yourself: No worries, you can relax, as the recipe is really simple. For the fresh mushrooms, white and brown button mushrooms are perfect, king oyster mushrooms give the dish a 'meaty' note thanks to their consistency and if chanterelles or fresh porcini mushrooms are available, be sure to use them too! A mix of different varieties also works wonderfully.
If you don't have dried mushrooms or want to save time, you can also just use fresh mushrooms and vegetable stock instead of mushroom stock, but for a more intense flavor, we recommend using dried mushrooms. You can find them in almost every large supermarket.
Pappardelle with Mushroom Ragout
Ingredients
- 400 g (14 oz) pappardelle
- 30 g (1 oz) dried porcini mushrooms
- 250 ml (1 cup) hot water
- 300 g (10.5 oz) fresh mushrooms of your choice (e. g. button mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, ...)
- 2 onions
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 5 sage leaves
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 200 ml (0.75 cup) vegan red wine
- olive oil for frying
- garden cress for serving
Instructions
Soak dried porcini in hot water for approximately 30 minutes. In the meantime, chop fresh mushrooms. Peel and finely dice onions and the garlic cloves. As soon as the dried porcini are softened, remove from the broth and chop them. Keep the mushroom stock and don't drain it.
Heat olive oil in a frying pan and start by frying onions and garlic over medium heat until the onions are translucent. Add the soaked porcini and fresh mushrooms. Finely chop thyme and sage leaves and add both to the pan. Keep frying for approximately 10 minutes.
Add tomato paste and mustard and fry for about 3 more minutes. Deglaze with red wine and let it simmer over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes. Add the mushroom stock from the dried porcini and generously season the sauce with salt and pepper. Keep simmering until the pasta is cooked. Afterwards, season the ragout to taste before serving.
In the meantime, cook pappardelle in boiling salted water according to package instructions, until they are al dente. As soon as they are done, drain, but keep some of the cooking water. Add the pasta directly to the ragout and toss to coat. Add as much of the pasta water until you get a glossy, creamy sauce that coats the pasta. Top with some chopped cress for serving.
