This cousin to ragu Bolognese takes about 45 minutes to prepare and is thus suitable for a weeknight dinner and is adapted from a recipe in 177milkstreet.com. One feature of this version is that dried porcini mushrooms are rinsed to remove grit but are not soaked, so that that all of the mushroom flavor ends up in the sauce. Chicken or turkey Italian sausage was chosen to make it lighter than it would be if pork sausage were used.
The recipe below is for 4 servings, each of which is for 3 oz. of pasta. I made 4 servings of the sauce, two of which I put in the refrigerator for another dinner, and two 2-oz. servings of the pasta.
12 oz. wide dried pasta (pappardelle, tagliatelle, or linguini)
Kosher salt and black pepper
3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 lb. fresh chicken or turkey Italian sausage, casing removed
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms, rinsed and chopped
1 cup dry white wine
¼ cup heavy cream
1 oz. grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
½ cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
Boil the pasta in salted water according to the package directions. Drain the pasta, reserving 1-1/2 cups of the pasta water. Toss the drained pasta in a bowl with 1 Tbs. of olive oil.
Heat the remaining 2 Tbs. of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and brown it for 3-5 minutes, breaking it into small pieces. Add the onion, carrot, and garlic and ½ tsp. each of salt of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, and then the wine, scrapping the bottom of any browned bits. Add 1 cup of the reserved pasta water, and cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 4-5 minutes. (I also sprinkled in about 1 Tbs. of flour.) Add the cream and cook for about a minute.
Add the pasta to the sauce and stir well for about 2 minutes to mix the pasta with the sauce. Check the seasoning and sprinkle in the Parmesan and basil. Serve immediately with additional Parmesan.