Mushroom Ragout

1. Roughly chop celery. Peel and roughly chop carrot.

2. Peel onions and roughly chop about one third of them. Add these to a saucepan with filtered water, a bay leaf, and dried porcini mushrooms.

3. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook for 20 - 30 minutes; strain and set the mushroom broth aside for later use.

4. Finely chop the rehydrated porcini mushrooms. Clean and slice any large fresh mushrooms, leaving smaller mushrooms whole if desired.

5. Dice remaining onion, chop parsley, and mince the sage.

6. In a large skillet, heat half of the olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion and the sea salt to the hot oil; cook until translucent.

7. Lower the heat to medium, season the onions with a generous pinch of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

8. Continue stirring until caramelized, about 5 minutes. Remove the onion to a small bowl.

9. Return the pan to the heat, add the remaining olive oil, and turn the heat to high. Add the mushrooms, stirring well to coat with oil.

10. Keep the heat high and sauté the mushrooms until they brown lightly. If juices accumulate in the pan, pour them off and reserve.

11. Add garlic, thyme, sage, and pepper flakes; stir well. Reduce the heat to medium, add the caramelized onions and the tomato paste, and stir to combine.

12. Cook for another 2 minutes, stirring.

13. Sprinkle the arrowroot over the mixture and combine. Ladle in 1 cup (per 4 servings) of the hot mushroom broth, stirring well as the mixture thickens.

14. Add another cup of hot broth and let the ragout cook for another 5 minutes. If it’s too thin, cook it a bit longer; if too thick, add a bit more broth.

15. Adjust with sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

16. Serve mushroom ragout, using parsley for garnish.