Thursday, November 4, 2010

Spaghetti with Porcini Mushrooms

Now that Halloween is behind us, and taking a breather from contacting all the award participants, I can now start posting some of the dishes that I have made in the past week. You will be seeing a lot more vegetarian dishes, since my son and daughter-in-law have become vegetarians, with their on-again, off-again...OK, lets eat some meat...special occasion excuses, so now it's official once more. As for me, I make vegetarian dishes at least twice or 3 times a week and the rest of the week it's usually chicken, anyway. Once in a while beef, or pork, which is rarely. This porcini mushroom comes from Italy, in a small packet. When my daughter visits once a year, all I ask of her is to bring me Italian spices, and porcini mushrooms. All you do to reconstitute the dried mushrooms, is to put them into a small pot, fill it up with water, let it come to a boil, leave it alone to cool the water...do not use for at least one hour, or just put it into a mason jar with the liquid, which is so important, and use it within a few days, or so...all of it, or some of it. It has a nice woodsy flavor, and it is oh so rich, and oh so very expensive, if you can even buy it! The broccoli florets was an (option) which was steamed and added in there at the end.

...I forgot to include in my Halloween "show& tell" dear departed grandma Fran, and Grandpa Ronny (comment from my 4yr old granddaughter)
...OK enough of that. My recipe to follow, the way I made the porcini with the spaghetti...some of you that do not like the broccoli, just ignore it. 
Spaghetti with Porcini Mushrooms

1 small packet of dried porcini mushrooms (about 1 cup dried)
1 onion chopped
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic minced
1 cup tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste
small amount of dried red pepper flakes
1 jalapeno seeded and sliced thin (optional)
few leaves of fresh basil
1 cup liquid from porcini mushrooms
1 cup porcini mushrooms that have been boiled and soaked in water
1 lb. dry spaghetti (save 1 cup water, from the cooked pasta)

In a medium saucepan, add water about halfway, empty the dried mushrooms and let it come to a boil. Do not boil any longer, just let the mushroom soak in the liquid, let it cool down, and save in a medium mason jar with a lid, with liquid. You should end up with about 2 cups of mushroom. Do not discard the liquid, you will need it in the cooking process.
In the meantime boil the water for the spaghetti, and cook according to directions. In a large skillet, saute onions, jalapeno and garlic till onions are nicely wilted, add the mushrooms, and the liquid from the mushrooms, the salt and pepper, and the basil. Let the liquid cook down for a few minutes, until you see it thickening. Add the tomato sauce, and let it cook until the sauce thickens You can add steamed broccoli florets to fold into the sauce at this time. (optional) Serves 4.








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20 comments:

Anne said...

I know a few vegetarians like that :) I don't think I could do it though, I just like meat way too much. This looks REALLY good though, and I don't even like mushrooms!

Elisabeth said...

I hear you Anne, It's been happening here for a year, or longer, on-and-off, now it's on again, and I do love vegetarian dishes a lot, but now I have to respect the rest of my family's wishes too...but I will not OMIT the Thanksgiving feast with the Turkey, or it's just NOT Thanksgiving!

Mari said...

This looks yummy. I am going to check the ingredients right this moment to see if I can make this tonight.

Have a great afternoon.

HGourmet Foodie said...

Porcini Mushrooms gives wonderful earthy flavor to the dish.. love it!!

Carolyn said...

That looks liek a great vegetarian dish! I adore mushrooms, especially in pasta. I am always looking for veggie dishes that will appeal to this family of carnivores!

Emma said...

Yum, I love this. The mushroom flavour would be so intense and delicious :)

GreenGirl said...

Your pasta sounds delicious especially for vegetarians like me

p.s. the link from foodbuzz is not working, keep saying : Blog not found
Sorry, the blog you were looking for does not exist. However, the name foodandhtriftfinds is available to register!

hope you fix it

Alexandria said...

I love how this recipe sounds a bit spicy! The mixture of the jalapeno with the woody porcini sounds awesome. Yum Yum!
I enjoy meatless meals...however I am always asked if there is any way I could add meat to it next time! Sheesh.

Monet said...

Isn't it amazing what flavor porcihin mushrooms can add? I used to be a vegetarian (and my husband still is) so we will be trying this recipe soon! We are all about flavorful pasta dishes. Thanks for sharing love!

Cardamom Hills said...

that luks soooooo delicious....have to try it!!

Priya said...

Very tempting and droolworthy spaghetti..

Susi said...

Love anything mushroom and this sounds delicious! Despite the lack of meat I think my whole family would enjoy this :o)

aipi said...

Such a beautiful looking spaghetti dish..all my favorite components in there..looks very refreshing!

US Masala

Angie's Recipes said...

A simple, but very flavourful pasta dish!

Cake Duchess said...

This looks just fabulous! I love the porcini:)

Michael Toa said...

Hi Elisabeth. This pasta dish looks so yummy...
love everything in it. Thank you for the comment at Chef Dennis' blog. I look forward to reading more delicious posts from you. Enjoy your weekend. Michael

Sara & Miki said...

Elisabeth, your pasta is wonderful, even if they are vegetarians. It may not always healthy, but we love meat. Kisses.

♥Sugar♥Plum♥Fairy♥ said...

I love eating veggies [really !!], alongwith my meats and i think i eat balanced this way,lol!
By the way , at home im not very adventurous with meats but if we eat out am better!
Wont elaborate this one ,trust me u dont want to know!
This pasta looks absolutely delicious and well made, perfect!!

alemap said...

Good morning Elisabeth. I will try your spaghetti with porcini mushrooms this weekend. My guys will be so excited to see the mushrooms they won't know that they're eating broccli.

Mike @ Webakecookies.com said...

This looks delicious. I know what I am having for diner tomorrow. Thanks for sharing!