Pasta With
Dried Mushrooms and Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

1 ounce
dried porcini mushrooms (about 1 cup)

1
tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup
finely chopped onion or shallot

2 to 3
plump garlic cloves, minced

Salt

1
(28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
in juice, coarsely pureed in a food processor fitted with the steel blade

1 teaspoon
fresh thyme leaves, chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Freshly
ground pepper

1 pound
fusilli or other pasta of your choice

Method:

1. Place
the mushrooms in a bowl or a pyrex measuring cup and cover with hot water. Let
soak 15 to 30 minutes, until thoroughly soft. Line a strainer with cheesecloth
and set it over a bowl. Drain the mushrooms and squeeze them over the strainer.
Then rinse in several changes of water and chop coarsely. Measure out 1/4 cup
of the mushroom soaking liquid.

2. Begin
heating a large pot of water for the pasta. Heat the olive oil in a large,
wide, heavy nonstick frying pan over medium heat and add the onion or shallot.
Cook, stirring, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir together
for 1 minute, until fragrant, then add the mushrooms and stir together for
another minute or 2, until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and their juice, the
mushroom soaking liquid, the thyme and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir and turn up the
heat. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, lower the heat to medium and cook,
stirring often, until thick and fragrant, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add a
generous amount of pepper, taste and adjust seasonings. Keep warm.

3. When the
pasta water comes to a boil, add a tablespoon of salt and the pasta. Cook al
dente, following the timing directions on the package but checking a minute or
two before the suggested time is up. Remove 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water
and stir it into the mushroom sauce. When the pasta is cooked through but still
firm to the bite, remove another 1/2 cup water, drain the pasta and toss with
the sauce in the frying pan if possible. If you wish to thin out the sauce or
moisten the pasta further, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water or
more of the mushroom soaking liquid. Serve hot; pass the Parmesan at the table.

Yield: Serves 6

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