Mushroom Ragout with Pasta

Another night, another 5:00 scramble for dinner. We're so busy trying to finish up the last touches on our house addition that sometimes dinner time just sneaks up on us. For the second night in a row, I turned to Everyday Food: Great Food Fast for a quick, delicious recipe. (it even has a Make Ahead option, see below!)

We had a bunch of mushrooms that needed to be used up, and a search for "mushrooms" in the index yielded this simple recipe. It even has bacon in it! Perfect.

Number One helped me by cooking the bacon and the pasta while I chopped mushrooms and picked parsley and rounded up the other ingredients from our newly-built and newly-organized pantry!

Simple yet satisfying, this mushroom bacon sauce is excellent without being overpowering. The flavors are just right, even the boys loved it. As H-Bomb said, "Mushrooms and bacon! Yum!"

We even had leftovers for tomorrow. Here you go.

Mushroom Ragout, before Pasta

Mushroom Ragout with Pasta
Serves 6 Prep time: 30 minutes Total time: 1 hour

4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces (we used 1/2 pound of bacon)
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 packages (10 ounces each) cremini mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
2 packages (10 ounces each) white mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
(we used about 12 ounces of creminis and a package of oyster mushrooms)
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 pound spaghetti
Shaved Parmesan cheese, for garnish (optional)

1. In a large 5-quart saucepan with a tight-fitting lid (that will be used later), cook the bacon over medium heat, uncovered, stirring until crispy, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel to drain. Set aside.

2. Add the onion to the saucepan; stir until golden, about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms; cover. Cook until the juices have evaporated, about 20 minutes.

3. Stir in the tomato paste, thyme and 2 cup water until combined; cover. Cook until the sauce has thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the parsley and vinegar. Add the bacon, reserving some for garnish, if desired.

4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta until al dente according to the package instructions. Drain and return to the pot.

5. To serve, toss the pasta with the ragout. Garnish with the reserved bacon and shaved Parmesan, if desired. Serve immediately.

*The sauce for this dish can be made a day or two ahead (keep the bacon separate) and refrigerated. Gently reheat as the pasta boils; add the bacon to the sauce during the last few minutes of heating.