Wild Mushroom Ragout with Ziti

I have no idea why I had mushrooms in the fridge as generally those are a fall/winter ingredient for me. But I did -- some creminis and shiitakes totaling just under a pound. Enough for a half recipe of this ragout.

I enjoyed making this start to finish -- from the very simple porcini broth (about 1 oz. of dried porcini, 3 cups of water, a bay leaf, half a small onion, a small carrot and small celery stalk -- the last three coarsely chopped -- brought to a boil then simmered 20-30 minutes), to the sauteed mushrooms, chopped onion and fresh herbs (sage and thyme), to the pasta [I used penne] tossed with EVOO and parsley. When it all comes together in the end, it is as much fun to eat as to prepare. The broth gives it a really nice depth of flavor.

Note: even though I made only a half recipe of the sauteed mushrooms, I made a full recipe of the broth and ended up using all of it.

I will definitely make this again but in the fall/winter months.