Yield: 2 Servings
| Measure | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 8 \N | Dried Corr=82ze cepes |
| 1 cup | Boiling water |
| 1 teaspoon | Beef fat; rendered |
| 2 tablespoons | Onion; chopped |
| 1 small | Clove of garlic |
| 2 cups | Beef stock |
| ½ medium | Carrot; sliced in small coins |
| ½ small | Tomato; coarsely chopped |
| 1 \N | Rib of leafy celery |
| 2 \N | Single pieces of large pasta |
| 2 tablespoons | V8 juice |
| ¼ cup | Red wine or more |
Notes:
Cepes are known as Porcini mushrooms in Italy.
Mushrooms from Corr=82ze are of course of the highest quality but other varieties will suffice. <G>
The beef fat was skimmed from the beef stock. Butter or oil would suffice.
In a pinch, a cup of beef juices from a roast beef augmented by a cup of water and a rounded tsp of beef soup base will have to do if a good homemade stock is not available. [It wasn't.] If the stock isn't already well seasoned during it's preparation, one might want to add pepper or a few herbs in with the carrot et al.
Large shells would look pretty in the bowl; I used rotini as that's what I had on hand.
V8 is a brand name juice that's mainly tomato juice but contains other vegetables as well it is more highly seasoned than plain tomato juice.
I used a 1995 Sutter Home [California] Zinfandel. I did a taste test without wine, then with ¼ cup wine, then added the V8 juice and finally added another ¼ cup wine. The version outlined above was the best.
Method:
Put cepes in a cup; bring water to a boil and pour over the cepes. Set aside to let the dried mushrooms reconstitute.
Gently fry the onions in the beef fat until golden brown; add the garlic about half way through the process. Drain to remove as much fat as possible and set aside.
Meanwhile bring the stock to a rolling boil and add the carrot, celery, tomato and pasta. Bring back to the boil; reduce heat to a simmer and cook fifteen minutes. Add the onion-garlic mixture during the last five minutes.
Remove from the heat, strain the broth to remove the Posted to MM-Recipes Digest by "Rfm" <Robert-Miles@...> on Sep 21, 98