Trahana With Mushrooms

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Place dried mushrooms in a bowl or in a pyrex measuring cup and pour on 3 cups boiling water. Let sit for 30 minutes. Line a strainer with cheesecloth or with a double thickness of paper towels, place it over a bowl and drain mushrooms. Squeeze mushrooms over the strainer to extract all the liquid, then rinse them in several changes of water to remove sand. Chop coarsely and set aside. Combine mushroom soaking liquid with additional vegetable or chicken stock to make 7 cups. Add salt to taste if stock is not already seasoned. Transfer to a saucepan and bring to a simmer.

2. Step 2

   Heat one tablespoon of oil over medium heat in a large heavy skillet or wide saucepan and add onion. Cook, stirring, until just tender, about 5 minutes, and add dried and fresh mushrooms. Cook, stirring, until mushrooms begin to release liquid, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, thyme and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until mushroom liquid has just about evaporated, and add the remaining oil and the trahana. Cook, stirring, until trahana is coated with oil.

3. Step 3

   Stir in wine and cook over medium heat, stirring, until wine is no longer visible in the pan. Stir in a ladleful or two of simmering stock, enough to just cover trahana. The stock should bubble slowly. Cook, stirring often, until it is just about absorbed. Add another ladleful of stock and continue to cook in this fashion, not too fast and not too slowly, adding more stock when trahana is almost dry, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until trahana is tender. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

4. Step 4

   Add another small ladleful of stock to the trahana. Stir in parsley and Parmesan if using. The trahana should be creamy. Serve at once in wide bowls.