Porcini, borlotti bean and rosemary ragù with soft polenta

Serves - 4 to 6

You’ll need

• 25g dried porcini mushrooms
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 2 celery sticks, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 rosemary sprigs, leaves finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 150ml red wine
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 x 400g tin borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
• 300ml vegetable stock, plus extra if needed
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

For the soft polenta
• 200g quick-cook polenta
• 900ml vegetable stock
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Soak the porcini

Put the dried porcini into a bowl and pour over 300ml just-boiled water. Leave them for 15–20 minutes until softened. Lift them out, squeeze them gently, then chop them roughly. Keep the soaking liquid and pour it carefully into a jug, leaving behind any gritty bits at the bottom. That liquor is full of flavour, so it very much wants to be involved.

2. Start the base

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or casserole over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery with a good pinch of salt and cook for 8–10 minutes until softened and smelling promising. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook for another minute, just until fragrant and heading in the right direction.

3. Build the ragù

Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a minute or two so it loses its raw edge. Pour in the red wine and let it bubble away for 2–3 minutes, scraping up anything caught on the bottom of the pan. Add the chopped porcini, chopped tomatoes, borlotti beans, the strained porcini soaking liquid and the vegetable stock. Give everything a good stir and bring it up to a gentle simmer.

4. Let it cook down properly

Simmer the ragù gently for 30–35 minutes, stirring now and then, until thickened and rich. If it starts to look a little too thick before it is ready, add a splash more stock or water. You want something spoonable and generous, not dry and claggy. Have a taste and add salt and black pepper as needed.

5. Make the polenta

Towards the end of the ragù cooking time, bring the vegetable stock to a gentle simmer in a saucepan. Slowly pour in the polenta, whisking as you go so it stays smooth rather than turning lumpy and difficult. Cook according to the packet instructions, stirring regularly, until thickened and soft. Stir in the olive oil and season well with salt and black pepper. It should be silky and spoonable, not stiff enough to sit there making a point.

6. Finish properly

Stir most of the parsley through the ragù and give it one final taste. It should feel earthy, rich and deeply savoury, with the rosemary there to lift it rather than dominate it.

7. Serve

Spoon the soft polenta into warm bowls or onto plates, then ladle over the porcini and borlotti ragù. Scatter over the remaining parsley and serve straight away while everything still feels warm, soft and exactly as it should.

A couple of helpful notes
- If you want even more depth, a few chestnut mushrooms finely chopped and cooked in with the onion, carrot and celery would work very nicely.
- Borlotti beans are especially good here because they hold their shape and bring a soft, creamy texture, but cannellini beans would also do the job well.
- The ragù is often even better the next day, so this is no bad one to make ahead if you are feeling organised.