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(okay Rick...do I get the cheque NOW????)
serves 8
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup dried morels
1/4 cup dried chanterelle
3 portobello mushroom caps
8 oz. crimini mushrooms
2 tbs. white truffle oil
10 sun-dried tomatoes
2 large Vidalia onions
1 tbs. minced capers
6 oz. (1 1/2 sticks) butter
about 2 cups white wine
1 head of herb-roasted garlic (recipe to
follow)
1 pound abruzessa (or other dry sweet Italian
sausage)
1 pound peeled and butterflied shrimp
1/2 pint heavy cream
2 pounds Creste di Gallo (or other pasta)
1 quart chicken stock
3 quarts water
grated Parmesan or Romano
PREPARATION:
Soak the dried mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes (unless oil-cured) in white wine to cover for about 30 minutes. [i put the dried ingredients in one of the pint-sized plastic containers that i get from the deli, add some wine and place another container on top with enough water in it to push the dry ingredients below the surface of the wine without squashing them.] Drain and reserve the liquid from the mushrooms and tomatoes.
Wash the mushrooms and tomatoes to remove the grit. Strain the grit from the liquid through a fine sieve and reserve the liquid. Chop the tomatoes, slice the chanterelles being sure to slice lengthwise through the thicker stems, and quarter the morels. Reserve the morels for garnish.
Coarsely chop the onions and saute in 4 oz. (1 stick) of butter over medium-high heat , stirring frequently until brown - about 5-6 minutes. Strain, reserving the butter.
Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for another 20 to 25 minutes Add the capers, garlic puree and the wine reserved from soaking the mushrooms and tomatoes. Increase the heat to medium and reduce, stirring occasionally until thick. Watch that it doesn't burn.
Quarter the sausage lengthwise, slice about 1/2" thick and saute in the reserved butter until beginning to crisp. Drain and reserve both sausage and butter.
Slice the portobellos caps in half and slice crosswise about 1/2" thick. Stem the Criminis and reserve stems for something else. Quarter the caps unless you can find really small ones which you can leave whole. Saute the mushrooms in the reserved butter until beginning to soften.
Add the caramelized onion/garlic/caper mix, sausage, morels, chanterelle, tomatoes, truffle oil and 1/2 cup white wine and cook over medium low heat until the portobellos are tender - about 5-10 minutes. Add the cream and reheat.
Meanwhile, saute the shrimp in the remaining 1/2 stick butter until barely done. Drain, reserving both shrimp and butter.
Saute the morel quarters lightly in the reserved butter and arrange them and the shrimp artfully on top of the sauce. Drizzle the remaining butter over the sauce (or save yourself the extra step and just mainline it.)
Serve with grated cheese over Creste di Gallo or other pasta boiled al dente in 1 qt stock and 3 qts. water.
HERB-ROASTED GARLIC
INGREDIENTS:
8 heads of garlic
fresh herbs
2 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. white wine
Lay fresh herbs [i used thyme, oregano and
lovage - any herbs will do.] on the bottom of
a baking pan. cut a slice off of the top of
each head of garlic and peel as much paper
off the cloves as possible, leaving the head
intact. Pour wine and oil over the garlic,
seal tightly with aluminum foil and roast at
350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Turn oven off
and allow to cool in oven. Break apart the
heads and squeeze the garlic out of each
clove, discarding the skin. Mash with fork.
Will keep in refrigerator for weeks.
(note from Nikkal...yeah, right Rick.....stuff's gone in hours round my house....mmmmmm)
VARIATIONS AND COMMENTS:
creste di gallo (or rooster crest)is a
cuved, ribbed tubular pasta with a curly
spine. its shape is a great contrast to the
morels.
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