Culinary Disasters

This is a simple and easy sauce that works great with mashed potatoes and red meats.  I use it with the veal meatloaf.

For this dish you are going to need:

• 1 ounce of dried procini mushrooms
• 1 shallot medium dice
• 2 cloves of garlic medium dice
• 1/2 of red wine
• 3 cups of boiling water
• 2 cups of beef broth
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 2 tb of cornstarch dissolved in 2 tb of water

First things first we want to rehydrate the mushrooms.  In a pan pour the 3 cups of boiling water over top of the dried mushrooms.  Cover and set aside for 20 minutes.

Once the mushrooms have been rehydrated strain the liquid into another bowl making sure to keep the liquid.  Set the mushrooms aside.

In a sauce pan over medium heat melt the tb of butter and add in the shallot.  Cook till soft and translucent (about 6 minutes).  Add in the garlic and cook for another minute.

Increase the heat to medium-high and add in the wine.  Let it reduce by 1/2.

Once the wine has been reduced add in 1 cup of the reserved mushroom liquid (the rest can be frozen for a later date), 2 cups of beef stock, rosemary, and thyme.  Bring to a simmer and let it reduce by 1/3 (about 45-60 minutes).

Once the sauce has been reduced by 1/3 strain out the sauce and discard all the solids. 

Place the sauce back onto the burner over medium heat and stir in the 2 tb of cornstarch dissolved in 2 tb of water mixture to combine throughly.  This should bring the sauce to a constancy that it coats the back of a spoon.  Turn off the heat and add in the reserved rehydrated porcini mushrooms.  Cover and rest for a couple of minutes.

Tags: sauce, All //