Porcini Pasta Sauce

This is a light sauce for using on Parmigiana style vegetable dishes or pasta. The measurements may not be exact but you can hardly go wrong with this fragrant sauce. My favorite thing about it is that it has a relatively short cooking time for such a rich tasting tomato sauce.



Ingredients:
1 finely diced large yellow onion
2 minced cloves of garlic
1 1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms
1 porcini bouillon cube
2T extra virgin olive oil
1 28oz can of tomato puree
1 can water (this is by volume so use the can)

Alternate Ingredients:
1 28oz can of tomato sauce
water to thin slightly
1oz more dried porcini instead of the bouillon cube

Directions:
Place the olive oil in a nonreactive 4 quart saucepan over medium heat, then saute the onions, then the garlic until softened, but not browned. Crush the dried porcini into smaller pieces and add to the pot and stir. Add the tomato puree and water, stir, add the bouillon cube, stir and break down the cube as best you can. The amount of water can vary, so remember that the object of using it is to thin down the puree to a thin sauce consistency. As you simmer this sauce it will thicken. Partially cover the pan with a lid, turn down heat to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens. This should take 30 minutes. Uncover the pan if the sauce is too thin for your taste and this will allow for more evaporation, resulting in a thicker sauce.