End-of-Summer Tomato and Mushroom Rigatoni

Mom, you started this recipe sharing, and I love it. This was for dinner the other night. Lucky you all, you get to try the recipes before the cookbook comes out (in about 15 years).


Ingredients:
2 large yellow tomatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 pound mushrooms (shitake or cremini), sliced
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs butter (optional)
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 tbs fresh thyme, chopped (or sub 1/4 cup parsley)
1/2 pound rigatoni, penne, or ziti (used here)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Bring water to a boil. Before adding pasta, drop in tomatoes for 30-60 seconds until the skins crack, so that they are easy to peel. Then season the water well with salt and add pasta. Cook al dente, and drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water.

In the meantime, heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat and add shallots. Sauté until soft, then add garlic and sauté another 30 seconds. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and continue to sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add wine and simmer until reduced by about half (5 minutes or so). Add chopped tomatoes, season with a bit more salt and pepper, and continue simmering until tomatoes have broken down, forming a sauce (about 10 minutes).

To the sauce add herbs, pasta, pasta water, butter, and half of the parmesan cheese. Serve garnished with the remaining cheese.

Serves 4.

!Buen provecho!