Hearty Mushroom Ragu

Mushrooms are a true superfood. According to UCLA Health, they decrease your risk of cancer, promote lower sodium and cholesterol, promote brain health, contribute to a healthier gut and immune system and are a natural source of vitamin D.
We use mushrooms in stir fries, omelettes and sometimes just as a side dish. This issue, we present a recipe that makes mushrooms the center of the meal. It’s easy and delicious to make this hearty mushroom ragu.
This is a meatless sauce that goes great over any pasta. We add a little soy sauce for some umami taste. We challenge you to even notice that there is no meat in this sauce. You can hand chop the mushrooms but if you’re trying to mimic the texture of ground beef, a food processor works wonders!
We turn to our local farmers markets for most of the ingredients needed. This includes farm direct mushrooms. Bear Valley Mushrooms brings a gorgeous assortment of super fresh mushrooms to our Saturday Old Town Newhall Farmers Market every week. Our Sunday Valencia FivePoint Farmers Market hosts F&F Farms who has been in the mushroom business for over 25 years.
Our farmers markets also have 100% local farm direct produce needed for this dish. They also host Italian specialty company Antipasti LA. They have real imported cheeses and have several varieties of fresh pasta available each week.
We also recommend making a larger batch of this sauce and freezing the leftovers. This does freeze very well.
The Santa Clarita Valley Farmers Markets operate Saturday morning in Old Town Newhall, Sunday morning in Valencia FivePoint (behind Magic Mountain) and Wednesday evening in Canyon Country. More information about our farmers markets can be found at www.scvfarmersmarkets.com.’

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 lbs Mushrooms of your choice,
use one variety or several
• 4oz Yellow onions, diced small
• 2oz Carrots, diced small
• 2 Cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 Cup Red wine
• 1/4 Cup Olive oil
• 1/4 Cup Butter
• 1 lb Diced tomatoes or whole peeled
canned tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon Chili flakes
• 1 Tablespoon Fresh oregano, finely diced
• 1 Tablespoon Sherry wine vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Soy sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

In a food processor, finely chop the mushrooms until they are small, about the size of ground beef. You can also chop them by hand if you don’t have a food processor. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, add the butter and olive oil. Once the butter is melted, add the carrots and onions. Cook over medium low heat. Do not brown the vegetables, the onions should be slightly translucent.
Add the garlic and all of the mushrooms. Cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently until the mixture starts to dry out, about 30 minutes.
Add the red wine, scraping all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add all of the remaining ingredients and continue to cook over medium low heat until the tomatoes start to break down. About 30 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over pasta.

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