Mushroom ragu bianco
And a stock market report
Welcome to To Vegetables, With Love, a celebration of a vegetable life, less ordinary.
My book Tenderheart is available from Books are Magic, Kitchen, Arts and Letters, Book Larder, Bold Fork Books and also here or here.
Those who own my books may have read that I usually do not use fancy vegetable stocks in my everyday cooking. Rather, I use vegetable stock powder. Specifically, Vegeta stock powder.
My love of Vegeta stems from my mother’s kitchen. Chinese home cooks are partial to bouillon. I loved to dig around in her conservatively-stocked spice drawer, stacked with Maggi chicken bouillion cubes and small containers of stock powder. At one point during my teen years, perhaps spurred by my vegetarianism, my mother switched from Maggi bouillon to Vegeta. She used it to make broths and soups, but also scattered it directly onto stir-fries and noodle dishes like her signature Singapore Noodles. In Cantonese, she called it “flavour powder”. In many ways, in her daily cooking, Vegeta served as a replacement for MSG, which she stopped using at home many years earlier. (Note, there are various types of Vegeta stock powders sold around the world – some contain MSG, while others do not).
Today in my kitchen, Vegeta remains my preferred “flavour powder”. Vegeta is fairly ubiquitous in Sydney supermarkets but it is harder to find in the United States, so I usually buy it online. While I love to make a fresh vegetable stock using vegetable scraps, my life right now doesn’t always afford the time and forethought that this task requires. Vegeta, or ready-made stock powders/pastes in general, are generous in their versatility, functionality and economy.
Recently, I came across a brand called Better Than Bouillon at my local supermarket. It packs impressive flavor so I have added it to my repertoire. The flavor is more refined than powder, deeper and richer. I keep it on hand for more “special dishes” (whatever that means!).
While vegetable (and meat) stocks are common ingredients in recipes, there is little discussion about why and how stocks can be used. For me - and perhaps this is because I am vegetarian and am always searching for umami – stocks are hugely foundational to the flavour of my cooking. They add savouriness, but also depth and fullness. When I am making a stew or ragu, any place where water is stipulated, I often replace this with vegetable stock. I use vegetable stock to cook grains like quinoa, farro and pearl barley; you could even cook pasta in it. I simmer rolled oats with vegetable stock for a quick and easy savoury oats. Like my mum, I scatter a little stock powder over my noodle stir-fries, to create more flavor. This rogue-ish stock behavior encapsulates how I freestyle when I’m not using a recipe or in recipe developer mode. I encourage you to experiment with stock in the same way – it’s fun.
Stock is key to this week’s recipe, a deeply umami white mushroom ragu. A white ragu or ragu bianco has no tomatoes; some recipes add milk to the mix. My mushroom version is vegan and is made the same way as a meat ragu, with the stock added in intervals. The slow and gradual adding of stock enables the flavours of the mushroom to concentrate, and to meld more cohesively. However, unlike meat ragu, which needs low and slow cooking, this mushroom version comes together quicker. You’ll be amazed by how deep the flavours become in such a short time. The final knob of butter brings richness, while the swig of vinegar injects life and spirit, rounding out the savouriness, sweetness and earthiness of the mushrooms – don’t skip it (if you don’t have red or white wine vinegar, use any vinegar you have, or lemon juice).
COOK / EAT / SHARE
I have a new quick weeknight friendly lasagna on NYT Cooking.
(I rarely read the comments (trolling) anymore, but I quickly scrolled them on this recipe and the snobbery and hatred leveled at jarred pasta sauce is, frankly, hilarious. It seems that many “experts” want to casually/smugly suggest making Marcella Hazan’s 20 minute tomato sauce recipe instead. Yes most of us know about Marcella’s EXCELLENT tomato sauce (which I make too!), but that is not the point of THIS recipe! And for those who don’t understand why the lasagna sheets are broken up, it’s so they are easier to handle, unlike the layering required of a traditional lasagna. Anyway, make the recipe and share a useful/nice comment.)
Have you made my spicy mushroom and tofu mazemen yet? It's kinda perfect for right now.
Who else loves Greek salad? This version has pan-fried gnocchi thrown in and, while non traditional, it’s a super quick and hearty weeknight meal.
I read that Gwyneth hates dill. Seriously, her loss. Celebrate dill with this lively lemony pearl barley soup - you should have most of the ingredients in your pantry. Or how about this perennial fave - sheet pan pierogis with Brussels sprouts and kimchi?
THIS WEEK’S RECIPE
Mushroom Ragu Bianco
© Hetty Lui McKinnon for To Vegetables, With Love
This recipe can be made of your choice of mushrooms. I used a mix of oysters, shiitakes and creminis (called swiss browns in Australia), but you could also use the same variety. Shiitakes add a nice chew which stays quite firm after cooking, which is a pleasing texture.
If you want it more ‘shroomy, use mushroom stock in place of the vegetable stock.
Serves 4
handful (about 10g / 0.3 oz) dried porcini mushrooms
1/4 cup olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 brown/yellow onion, diced
sea salt and black pepper
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1 cup vegetable stock
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 sprig rosemary, leaves chopped
10 sage leaves, chopped
1/2 cup cooking wine (white wine, rice wine etc)
450g (1 pound) mushrooms (any variety)
2 tablespoons vegan (or regular) butter
2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
Soak the porcini mushrooms in 1 cup warm water for 5-10 minutes.
Heat a large pot or Dutch oven on medium high. When hot, add olive oil, along with the onions, carrots, celery. Add the sugar and season with salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened and are starting to turn golden, 7-8 minutes.
Meanwhile, remove the porcini mushrooms from the soaking water (keep the water!), squeeze out the liquid and roughly chop the mushrooms. Add the vegetable stock to the porcini soaking water - you should have about 2 cups of stock now.
To the vegetables, add the garlic, rosemary and sage and stir for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the wine and cook for one minute, stirring, to allow the alcohol to cook off. Add the porcini mushrooms and then the other mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have started to soften, about 2 minutes.
With the heat still on medium high, add about 1/2 cup of stock and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add another 1/2 cup of stock, and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 2 minutes. Repeat this process 2 more times until the stock has been used up.
After all the stock has been added, cover with lid, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Uncover and stir in the butter and vinegar. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
Serve the mushroom ragu bianco with pasta, rice or polenta.
If you’re looking for a newsletter recipe, see my Substack recipe archive here. For recipes with a 🔒 symbol, you will need a paid subscription. Everything else is free.
🥦 My cookbook, Tenderheart is for cooking vegetables, all year round. Pick up your copy here. It is also mostly vegan (or vegan-izable) and gluten-free adaptable.
I would like to recommend a company that I have bought from for many many years and it has a really deep offering of dried herbs, spice and yes, powdered and granulated vegetables. SF Herb Company (sfherb.com) is able to offer large quantities (half lb to five lb) and even much smaller ones of various dried alliums, leeks, chives, garlic etc plus tomato granules and powders at very low cost. They sell a dried spinach, carrot, celery, onion, tomato mix that is a nice add-in for sopa seca and latin rice dishes. I use it in bean dishes and minestrone very often as a favor base. The advantage is that the salt can be adjusted separately as many of their dried mixes are salt free. SF Herb is very popular with restos and food service but do offer smaller packs at a higher price per ounce.
Your Mushroom Ragu Bianco is really-really excellent! I used homemade veg stock, sub'd leeks for onion and had a tablespoon of cream to use which sub'd for the butter. Served with polenta, cod filets, and asparagus. This will be a repeat recipe for sure! I agree Better Than Bouillon is a good choice when you don't have homemade stock.