Beef with mushrooms and Marsala

It’s amazing what mushrooms – and dried mushrooms – can do.

The meat becomes more beefy, rich in umami flavours. This dish uses a simple batch of cooked mince as its base.

Requires soaking time.

Ingredients

• 10g dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 500g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, grated to a purée
• 5g butter
• leaves from 1 thyme sprig (optional)
• 75ml dry Marsala
• ⅓ simple mince recipe, defrosted recipe here

To serve

• 200g tagliatelle or other pasta, cooked
• Parmesan, freshly grated

Method

1. Put 10g dried porcini mushrooms in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to soak for 20 minutes.
   
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan and fry 500g sliced chestnut mushrooms briskly in 3 batches over a high heat, seasoning as you go. You want to get a good colour on them.
   
3. Transfer each batch to a bowl.
   
4. Add 1 grated garlic clove to the last batch and cook for another minute.
   
5. Drain the porcini – keep the soaking liquid – and add them to the pan along with 5g butter, the leaves from 1 thyme sprig and the rest of the cooked mushrooms. The butter enriches the flavour.
   
6. Pour in 75ml Marsala and let it reduce by ⅓.
   
7. Add ⅓ simple mince along with the porcini soaking liquid.
   
8. Season and bring up to the boil.
   
9. Serve with 200g cooked tagliatelle and grated Parmesan.