Pasta with Sausage, Porcini and Portobello Mushrooms

This is another recipe from The Wine Lover's Cookbook. It is also, easily, a recipe you could serve for company. The flavors are exquisite and rich. And, while it says it serve 4 as an entree, It could easily serve more.

I made a few changes to the recipe that, frankly, probably affected the overall richness of the recipe. Most notably, I did not discard all of the water from re-hydrating the porcini mushrooms but used it to enrich the sauce. I also only used one pan to cook the dinner (minus making the pasta), where the recipe suggested using two - I think that also impacted the overall flavor.

Pasta with Sausage, Porcini and Portobello Mushrooms

2 oz dried porcini mushrooms
12 oz sausage (italian or chorizo), cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups chopped portobello mushrooms
3/4 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup red wine
2 14-oz cans chopped tomatoes, drained
salt and pepper to taste (red pepper flakes optional if using a low-spice sausage)
1 lb dried penne or small dried pasta (we used rotini)

Soak porcini according to package direction. Drain. Reserve mushroom water.

Heat a large sautee pan over medium heat. Coat with spray oil and about 1 tbsp olive oil. Add sausage and sautee for 6 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until browned. Remove and place on paper towels. Pat dry. Set aside.

Deglace pan with water. Add onions and garlic and sautee about 4 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add porcini, portobellos, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper and continue sauteing for 3 to 4 minutes. Add wine and about 1/2 cup of reserved mushroom water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer to reduce by half. Add tomatoes and tomato paste and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes. Add reserved sausage and heat thru. Season to taste.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Carefully add pasta and cook according to package directions or until it is al dente. Drain.

You can either plate the pasta and spoon the sauce over it or combine pasta and sauce in a large bowl and serve.

Wine Pairing: The book recommends a syrah. DH and I had Sam Adams Oktoberfest. Sausage = Beer in our house.