Beef Filet with Mushrooms - Filetto di Manzo ai Funghi

This recipe is said to be originally from Novara in the area around Lago Maggiore. This is a pre-Alpine region northwest of Milan known for the lake, magnificent views and mushrooms. Raffaella and I are of simple people. Our passions reflect who we are. Mushrooms are part of those things we are passionate about. It is not enough to have mushrooms on the plate. They need to be nurtured and their flavor exalted and served with something equally as flavorful. A beautiful Beef Filet and the port sauce meet the requirements. I was looking for something special for Valentine’s Day and thinking about this dish it reminded me of our relationship. Individually strong, but when together, the balance kicks in, the resulting union is exponentially magnifies the individual characteristics.

The flavors are simple but decisive. The quality of the ingredients is paramount. The method of preparation will significantly change the resulting balance. Many of the local recipes will prepare the mushrooms first and then in the last minutes cook the filet separately. I think the end result is like a couple of two passionate people who are not passionate about each other. You can feel their passion, they fascinate and please but they are two separate entities. The matriarchs of Varese taught me a different way to prepare this dish and that is the recipe I am presenting here.

Our wine for this dinner: Produttori del Barbaresco Pora' Reserve.

Our side dish: Patate Arrosto con Rosmarino.

Ingredients:

1 lb (450 g) Beef or Veal Filet (cut into two or four pieces)
1 lb (450 g) Mushrooms (the original uses fresh porcini – I used Shitake)
2 tbsp chopped Italian Parsley
½ stick (50 g) unsalted sweet cream Butter
¼ cup Port or Dry Marsala
1 cup Dry White Wine
Salt and Pepper

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Brush the mushrooms with a kitchen brush to remove any remaining dirt. Slice the mushrooms about ½ inch thick and set aside. Chop the parsley tops and set aside.

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add fresh cracked pepper and a sprinkle of salt to the butter. Sear the filet for two minutes on each side (this is rare). Remove the filets to a baking pan and place in the oven to keep warm. Since most people cook the meat directly from the refrigerator this will also assure that the internal temperature is not cold.

Pour the port into the skillet and quickly deglaze the skillet. Add the mushrooms and chopped parsley. Reduce the heat to medium low. Stir for about two minutes, coating the mushrooms with the base sauce. Add the glass of white wine and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the sauce about ¾, this will take about five minutes. Return the filet to the reduced mushrooms sauce for 1 minute and serve.

To serve: Place the filet in the center of the plate. With a ladle, place the mushrooms and sauce ½ on the meat and ½ on the plate.

Tags: Gourmet Foods Beef Mushrooms Main Dishes Italian Recipes Food and Wine Travel Italy

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Risotto ai Funghi Porcini – Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms

The autumn is a wonderful time of year. The temperature drops and hearty dishes appear as the savory ingredients come into season. Tartufo, Mushrooms, Cabbage are all in their own. The farm animals are plump, with their highest proportion of fat and muscle, creating flavorful and tender meats. This year’s production of Sausage, Osso Buco and the Fiorentina are now in the butcher shops.

Raffaella and I look forward to the Fall. Just over the stone and brick bridge spanning one of the canals in Milan is our favorite Fruit and Vegetable shop in piazza Baiamonti. The wooden crates positioned in front of the 200 sq. ft. store are positioned, almost haphazardly, to show the latest arrivals. Today it is mushrooms. Ovuli, Spugnole, Chiodini and, of course, Porcini. Just the sight of these little warehouses of exotic flavor makes my mouth water. I can smell the risotto cooking on the stove even before we are close enough to smell their perfume.

Porcini, as all mushrooms, are an important part of regional recipes of northern Italy. The ways to consume mushrooms is impressive but one of my favorites is in a simple risotto. I must admit that while I have had Risotto ai Porcini in many different homes, the one Raffaella makes explodes with flavor and the mushrooms maintain a consistency very similar to a tender filet. The basic ingredients are very important and for some time we were not happy with the quality of Porcini here in the US but we found both the fresh and frozen Porcini from Oregon to be very flavorful.

If using dried porcini, soak the mushrooms in water for several hours. Drain for 30 minutes before using.

Ingredients for 4 people:

400 gr. (just under 1 lb) of Arborio Rice
1 lb. Porcini Mushrooms (dried 4 oz)
2 tablespoon (40 gr.) butter
1 medium sized onion
1 clove Garlic
1 quart light meat broth
½ glass white wine ( Roero Arneis is the perfect death of this dish )
¼ lb (100 gr.) Grated Parmesan Cheese
fistful of chopped Italian Parsley
1 nut of butter (just under 1 tablespoon)

Preparation:

Chop the onion to a small dice.

Clean the Porcini with a brush. Wipe the mushroom vigorously with a paper towel. Cut the mushrooms into slices about ¼ inch thick.

Place the broth in a pot and heat over medium high heat. Once it comes to a boil reduce heat to maintain a simmer.

Place the butter, onion, whole garlic and mushrooms in a medium sized heavy pot on medium heat. Sauté the mix until the mushrooms release their liquid and it is reabsorbed.

Add the rice to the hot pot and stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir for about two minutes until the rice is completely coated. Sprinkle the wine directly into the rice. It will steam. Continue stirring the rice until the wine has almost evaporated. Remove the Garlic.

Set the timer 20 minutes.
Add one ladle of broth (about ¾ cup). Continue stirring the rice at intervals of every 15-30 seconds. As the broth is consumed add another ladle.

Continue until the timer goes off. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, the parsley and the nut of butter. Let sit for 2 minutes and serve hot! The serving hot part is very important.

Serve with a hearty wine. A beautiful choice would be a Barbaresco, a Barolo or perhaps Roero Arneis.

Tags: Gourmet Foods Risotto Mushrooms Porcini Piemonte Lombardia Italian Recipes Food and Wine Travel Italy

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Rombo allo Spumante

Sea Bass with a Sparkling Wine Sauce

I must admit, I do not love fish, I do not order fish in any restaurant unless I know the owner and have eaten there before. Raffaella is even very cautious when she prepares fish for me. In order for me to enjoy a fish dinner it must be extremely fresh and well prepared. My problem with fish is that I am a very physical person. When I eat I need to have something to crunch on, I need texture, and I need balance in flavor. Nothing can be overbearing. Fish must be fresh and prepared by a master to meet these conditions.

Italian tradition requires that Good Friday, that is every Friday, is a no meat day. Friday often meant risotto with asparagus or pasta with mushrooms. Every once in a while Raffaella, who loves fish even if not perfect, will prepare a fish main course. I know I am spoiled but I still must have my pasta or risotto! This is one of Raffaella’s inspirations taken from a recipe in “il Cucchaio di Argento” edited by Editoriale Domus. This will be our Christmas Eve main course.

The Rombo, unfortunately, is a Mediterranean species and is found only there. Sea Bass, Mahi Mahi or Tuna steak can be used in substitution.

Ingredients:

4 fillet of Rombo (about ¼ lb each)
¼ lb (100 grams) of Champignon Mushrooms
¾ stick of butter (70 grams)
1 cup of Spumante Secco (dry sparkling wine)
1 Scallion diced
2 Tbs. Heavy Cream
1 Tbs. Cornstarch
salt
pepper

Wash each fillet, drain and delicately pat dry with a towel.

Clean the mushrooms and slice thinly. On medium heat, melt ½ the butter in a skillet and add the scallion. Saute’ the scallion until transparent. Add the mushrooms and continue to sauté until they are slightly colored.

In a large skillet melt the remaining butter on medium heat. Add the fillets and brown on each side. Remove from the skillet and let drain. Remove the skillet from the heat. Place the fillets in the mushroom mix, sprinkle the fish with ½ the spumante, add salt and pepper, and cook together for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove the fillets from the mushroom mix, put the fillets in a serving dish and place in the oven at about 100 degrees to keep warm.

To the mushroom mix stir in the heavy cream. Allow the mushroom to simmer over low heat. Dissolve the cornstarch in a ¼ cup of warm water with a small whisk. Slowly stir into the mushrooms with a wooden spoon. Bring the heat back to medium low and add the remaining sparkling wine. Allow the sauce to thicken and reduce by ¼.

To serve pour the mushroom sauce over the fillets, sprinkle with some chopped parsley if desired, and serve immediately.

Tags: Fish Gourmet Food Italian Recipes Food and Wine Travel Italy

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Raffaella’s Ragu’ con Funghi Porcini (Meat Sauce) #2

Meat Sauce with Porcini Mushroom

This ragu' is an interesting combination of flavors and textures. The Northern Italian Sausage is made has no fennel and uses a combination of Parmesan cheese, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper to accent the flavor of the pork. Combined with the red wine, ground beef and mushrooms it creates a complexity of flavors that explode in your mouth one right after the other. No single component is overbearing; just kind of sneak up on you. Although this sauce could be used for a lasagna it is better combined with a simple plate for freshly made fettucine.

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground Beef
½ lb Northern Italian Sausage
20 grams of Butter (about 1 ½ Tablespoons)
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 medium Onion minced
1 Carrot minced
1 Stalk of Celery minced
300 grams of fresh Mushrooms (preferably Porcini) or 100 grams of dried Mushrooms
½ cup Red Wine – medium body and not fruity.
1 28 oz can of tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
Hot water
1 clove of Garlic
2 Bay leaves
1 palm of Coarse Sea Salt
Pepper

Note:
1) There are Porcini produced in Oregon that are significantly less expensive than the Italian version and are of excellent quality. We usually purchase them in 10 lb bags frozen.
2) A palm is the amount you can easily pick up in your hand. It would be about 1 ½ Tablespoons.

Preparation:
Mash the tomatoes in a mixing bowl, creating a uniform sauce.

Remove the sausage from the casing.

If you are using fresh mushroom, clean them and slice very thin. For dried mushrooms, place them in warm water for ½ hour. Drain, and rinse again with running water. The dried mushrooms may have more dirt and be more difficult to clean so rinse them well.

In a heavy bottomed medium pot with high sides, heat the oil and butter on medium heat. When hot and completed dissolved add the onion, carrot, and celery. Sauté until transparent, without allowing them to gain too much color. Add the ground beef and the crumbled sausage, stirring often with a wooden spoon until the meat releases all of its liquid. Reduce on medium heat until the liquid is almost entirely evaporated.

Add the wine and allow it to almost completely evaporate.

Add the mushrooms. For fresh mushrooms, the mushrooms will let go of their natural water, allow this to evaporate before proceeding to the next step. For dried mushroom it is enough to let them cook for a couple of minutes turning them several times with the meat.

Add the tomatoes. Fill the tomato can ¾ full with hot water. Add the water to meat, salt pepper, the clove of garlic and the bay leaves.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover the pot.

Very important: The ragu’ must simmer and nothing more for the entire time it is cooking.

Continue on very low heat for about 6 hours, stirring occasionally. After 4 hours the sauce can be tasted and seasoned to taste. It is likely that no additional salt will be required since sausage was mixed with the ground beef. Remove the garlic and the bay leaves.

Continue cooking for the remaining 2 hours on very low heat.

This sauce has no limit for the amount of time it can simmer. The longer it cooks the more intense the flavor. The final result should be a dense sauce, without any liquid.

Ragu’ is always better the day after so prepare at least one day before you want to use it. Raffaella always makes about 4 times the amount she needs for any dish. The remaining ragu’ can be kept in the fridge for about a week or divided into portions and frozen.

Tags: Meat Sauce Porcini Mushrooms Ragu Italian Recipes Food and Wine Travel Italy

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