Mushroom Ragout, Mediterranean Soup, No-Knead Foccacia Boule

Mushroom Ragout
Got mushrooms?  Make ragout!  Ragout is an Italian sauce usually made with ground meat and tomatoes -- marinara sauce is a ragout or ragu.  Mushroom ragout is an old vegetarian version of the sauce which may or may not incorporate tomatoes.  My no-tomato version is loosely based on one by Giada De Laurentis.

1 lb Mushrooms -- any kind, chopped
1 medium/small Red Onion, diced
3-4 cloves Garlic
1 cup Red Wine
1 Tbsp Savory -- the herb
optional:  2/3 cup grated or shredded Parmesan, chopped parsley, butter

Saute the onion and garlic in a splash of oil/butter until soft.  Add the mushrooms and continue cooking until they soften too.  Now add about a cup of red wine. 

Continue cooking until the wine is evaporated.  Lastly add 2 cups of water and the Savory, stir, and continue cooking until the broth is at least 50% reduced. 

Add any or all of the optional ingredients, stir  and cook to incorporate them and thicken the mixture.

Serve over polenta cakes, pasta, rice, or  as a stand-alone side dish.  Also great on toast or an English muffin, or as filling for an omelette!

Mediterranean Soup
Take last week's leftover Pasta with Two Veg, add some leftover zucchini and eggplant pieces, sauté some mushrooms, and start it simmering in about 5 cups of water.  Add a 'brick' of frozen leaf spinach, some extra herbs and spices, and there you have at least two more meals!

No-Knead Focaccia Boule
Made a large batch of focaccia dough so we'd have fresh hot bread to go with that Mediterranean Soup.  Divided the batch in half -- one to make a regular flat focaccia, the other to make this "boule".  I baked it in a 9" diameter  Pyrextm mixing bowl to get this lovely dome shape.

4 cups AP Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 packet Quick Rising Yeast
Rosemary
EVOO

Measure the flour into a large bowl.  Add the salt and about a tablespoon of dried rosemary and stir to combine.    Bloom the yeast in 2 cups of warm water, stirring to dissolve the yeast completely.

Make a well in the flour and add half of the yeast water. With a wooden spoon start stirring the flour/water mix.   Add the rest of the water and stir strongly for 2-3 minutes to get a good mixture.

Cover the bowl with a warm tea towel. I nuke a slightly damp towel for about 30 seconds.  Cover the dough.  Put the covered dough is a warm-ish place to rise.  Here in Florida I often set in on a table outside on our covered lanai.  

Allow the dough to rise for 1 hour.   Transfer to prepared (greased/sprayed) baking containers -- two 8" round cake pans or a 5x9" loaf pan,  or some combination of pans, dividing the dough with a spatula as you 'pour' it into each container.  You can even cut it into smaller pieces and make mini loaves or baguettes.  

Allow the panned dough to rise for another 20 minutes and then brush the tops with EVOO and sprinkle with more rosemary.  Bake at 450F for 30-45 minutes to an internal temperature of 190-220F.   Rest for 10-15 minutes before removing from the baking dishes.