Long-Cooking Savoy Cabbage, Bacon, and Mushroom Sauce

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Cut the bacon rashers into 1-inch pieces, or cut prosciutto end into pieces of similar size. Slice the mushrooms 1/8 inch thick or slightly thicker you should have 6 cups. Trim off tough, discolored, or loose leaves from the cabbage; slice it in half or quarters, and cut out the hard core. Slice the cabbage into shreds about 1/3 inch thick; you should have nearly 4 quarts!

   Step 2

   Pour the oil into the pan, strew in the garlic and bacon pieces, and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, as the bacon renders and the garlic sizzles and colors slightly. Don’t let either get too crisp or brown. Add the peperoncino during this time, toasting it in a hot spot for a minute before stirring in.

   Step 3

   Pile all the cabbage and mushrooms in the pan; sprinkle the salt all over. Stir just a bit, to begin mixing the vegetables with the oil, bacon, and garlic. Cover the pan, turn down the heat slightly, and let the vegetables heat and begin to sweat for 3 or 4 minutes, then stir again. Cook, covered, and stir every couple of minutes it will get easier as the vegetables wilt until everything is mixed together.

   Step 4

   Continue to cook, covered, for an hour or so, as the cabbage and mushrooms continue to shrink and soften. Stir every now and then; adjust the heat so everything is sizzling and steaming but not darkening or sticking. Add 1/2 cup or so of broth or water to the pan whenever the vegetables seem too dry.

   Step 5

   Uncover the pan and cook for 45 minutes or longer, stirring frequently and moistening the sauce with broth or water at intervals. Adjust the heat to maintain the slow and steady concentration of the cabbage. Taste for salt, and add more if you wish. When the cab bage shreds are completely soft and there’s about 1 1/2 quarts of sauce in the pan, remove it from the heat.

   Step 6

   Use the sauce immediately if you want. Store it in the refrigerator for a week, or freeze for use within several months.

2. My Favorite Fresh Mushroom Mix

   Step 7

   I have to be honest and tell you that my favorite fresh-mushroom mix is one that has some of the amazing wild mushrooms we usually serve at the restaurant: fresh porcini, chanterelles, morels, and even wilder varieties! If any of these are available, you should certainly include them with ordinary cultivated mushrooms in any of the recipes in this book—even a few will add a special flavor.

3. Step 8

   All of the recipes, however, will be delicious with the domestic cultivated mushroom types available in the supermarket: common (white) mushrooms and cremini are my standards. They must be firm and fresh, with caps tight to the stem. Size doesn’t matter that much, though in some dishes I specify button mushrooms. Oyster mushrooms are good too but are often quite soft and will break up, so you don’t get texture. Shiitake mushrooms are fine (use only the caps), though I generally will not use them for more than a quarter of my mushroom mix.

4. Step 9

   Preparing mushrooms is not complicated. Trim away any tough parts—with odd-shaped mushrooms, just feel to determine what needs trimming. And don’t soak mushrooms: wipe them with a damp paper towel to remove any grit or dirt.

5. Good With . . .

   Step 10

   Tubular dry pasta

   Step 11

   Fresh mixed and whole-grain pasta

   Step 12

   Gnocchi

   Step 13

   As a topping for polenta or polenta pasticciata

   Step 14

   Risotto

   Step 15

   Grilled meats