Fresh Puffball Mushroom Ragú is a modern British recipe (from an Italian original) for a classic dish of fried puffball pieces in a herbed tomato base served with pasta. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Fresh Puffball Mushroom Ragú.
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This is a simple ragu of puffball pieces for serving with pasta or polenta. Slowly browning the puffballs in butter is the key for good flavour. Although this is a vegetarian recipe, it's also really good with meat added, especially sausage.
Use only pristine, firm and pure white puffballs with no spore mass visible inside. Also it's advisable to peel the puffballs before use.
Ingredients:
225g fresh puffball flesh (either meadow puffball or giant puffball can be used) pristine, firm and pure white (frozen, cooked puffball can also be used)
1 small yellow onion, cut into 1cm dice
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
120ml dry white wine
115g unsalted butter (plus more if the pan gets dry)
1 tbsp tomato purée (optional)
550g tinned whole peeled tomatoes
Pinch of crushed chilli flakes
1 tbsp dried oregano, crumbled
To Serve:
225g dried pasta, cooked (for serving)
Method:
Melt the butter in a large heavy-based frying pan over low-medium heat. Add the puffball pieces (cut into 1.5cm cubes) and cook slowly, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms release their excess liquid and the liquid evaporates away. Continue cooking slowly, stirring until the puffballs are nicely coloured a golden brown and slightly crispy around the edges (it should take about 30 minutas all told). If the pan gets dry at any point add a little more butter.
At this point stir in the tomato purée and the chilli flakes and cook for 2 minutes more, pressing the tomato purée into the base of the pan to help it dissolve.
Meanwhile, coarsely puree the tomatoes using a hand blender. Add the wine to the puffball mixture, bring to a boil and cook it off then add in the puréed tomatoes. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and continue cooking for 20 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened to your liking.
Stir in the oregano then season to taste with salt and freshly-ground black pepper.
Add your hot pasta to the sauce and if the mixture looks a little dry add a ladleful of the pasta cooking water.
Remove the pasta from the sauce, dividing between four serving bowls. Spoon the mushroom sauce over the top, garnish with grated parmesan and serve.
