Wild Mushroom Ragu

Mario Batali strikes again, and he strikes vegan!!! I was actually supposed to make fresh egg=based pasta dough for this, but I used an eggless boxed variety because I was feeling lazy, so I didn't have to worry about that. Mario recommended some grated parm on top,but I think it would've ruined it, the flavors in this were much too sweet and subtle to overpower with some salty cheese. Boo cheese.

The dish actually looks as good as it tastes, which is pretty unusual.

For my wild mushrooms, I reconstituted some porcinis and oysters that were hanging out in the pantry, and they played together beautifully. The sauce had a gorgeously sweet undertone to it...not overpowering or anything, but just right, and I didn't even add anything sweet...I think it may have been the tomatoes.

This was quick and easy, and tasted like it was cooking for a really long time....I'm starting to see how Mario gets away with charging inordinate amounts for pasta in his restaurant, it tastes like its very special, no matter how simple the ingredients.

Selah.