Spaghetti with Mushroom Sauce

Recipe inspiration can come from many sources -- or perhaps a combination of them. The latter is true with this dish. First, my friend Stacy posted this recipe for a vegetarian ragout. Looks delicious, right? Then I was reading a recipe in one of my cajun cookbooks for a mushroom spaghetti. My finished product is sort of a combo of the two.

Notes: I have some leftover jarred marinara sauce that I've been trying to use up. I used that in place of the canned tomatoes and tomato paste that you see here. I wrote the recipe the right way because the jarred sauce didn't work like I wanted to.

If I had a blender, I would have blended the carrots, onions, and celery into the tomatoes and then added the mushrooms. That would have made the mushroom flavor really shine. A combo of mushrooms would have worked really well (I just used crimini mushrooms).


Ingredients:
1 pound thin spaghetti
1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce or diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
3 or 4 carrots
3 or 4 stalks of celery
1 onion
4 or 5 cloves of garlic
3/4 or 1 pound mushrooms (use your favorite)
3 or 4 anchovy filets
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 cup water
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Directions: Start by prepping all your veggies. You want a small dice on everything. Dice carrots, celery, and onion first. Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a stock pot and heat on medium high. Add the carrots, celery, and onion. Season well with salt and pepper. Let them saute for a good long while. You want them nice and tender, almost over cooked. Add the anchovies.

Mince your garlic and dice the mushrooms. Add them to the pot and saute until tender. Sprinkle in your herbs and red pepper and stir them into the veggies. Add in your tomatoes, water, and tomato paste. Make sure the tomato paste dissolves. Turn the heat to low and simmer for at least an hour.

Fill a stock pot with water. Once it boils add a small handful of salt and drop your pasta. Cook until al dente (for thin spaghetti, about 6 minutes). Drain the cooked pasta and add it into the stock pot where your sauce is. Stir to combine well.

Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and enjoy!