Author: Tutter
4th of July Pasta
The pasta is al dente cooked rotelli/rotini/fusilli; they are spirals. (Or the medium tubes with the ribs...I'm drawing a blank as to what they are called.)
In a pan I saute onions, lean ground meat, peppers are optional, and lots of portobello mushrooms. (How to fix them, below.)
I add canned tomatoes, with juice, and pick herbs from the summer garden. Pretty much the same ones in Schillings Italian spice, so if you don't have fresh herbs, you could add a little of that. Also salt, pepper, garlic etc.
When the meat mix is cooked so that the tomatoes aren't "raw" in flavor, and it's not watery, we serve it tossed with the still-hot pasta. You can serve with cheese, I like some grated Reggiano, a salad, and garlic toast.
Fixing the portobellos:
Choose portobellos with thick caps. If they are thin capped, or are open completely flat, they are hardly worth the effort.
Pop off the stem. You can use it for another use, or discard it, depending on what you prefer, or if it's pithy.
Turning the caps gills up, and using a very sharp knife (I like a special steak sized knife I have which is super sharp, with a thin blade. A dull knife with tear the mushrooms.) cut the caps into quarters. You want about 5 large mushrooms.
Leaving them on their backs, cut off a thin strip where the little edge that hangs over is. This prevents the mushroom from peeling. If you peel a portobello, unlike a button mushroom, you lose all the distinctive flavor.
Now stand each 1/4 on end and slice off the gill area. You want to remove all the black, but not lose the rest of the cap, another reason for a good sharp knife. The gill area should be cut off in a sheet, then go back and get anything left. The gills discolor the food, and some people who can't eat mushrooms can, if they are de-gilled. Using a spoon is the usual method, but it can make a mess for this. The quarters are easy to de-gill with the knife.
Now carefully wipe the top side of each quarter. You want the "skin" on it, but you can wipe any dirt etc. off. Also any gill bits that stuck anywhere.
Now you should have 20 mushroom quarters, if you began with 5 mushrooms. Slice them into medium thick slices about an inch long.
To cook them, put olive oil in a pan and brown them quickly, starting with the pan pretty hot. As they get brown, salt them to bring out their water and finish cooking. You may need more oil at some point. Once cooked, use them in whatever you like. Soup; pastas; rice; stuffing etc.
I always say they would make wonderful snacks served right from the pan, salted and browned! smile
Once they are ready, for this pasta, add onions and keep going for the recipe. smile
