If you are not familiar with Lidia Bastianich, she is an Italian-American, celebrity chef, television host, author, and restaurateur, specializing in Italian and Italian-American cuisine.
The name Woodsman-Style refers to the plentiful mushrooms in the sauce, and the presumption it is the “woodsmen” who find the wild mushrooms in the forest. However, almost any variety of mushrooms can be used.
Rigatoni is the pasta of choice for this dish, and here Lidia tells why…
The “riga” in rigatoni means “stripe.” It is those stripes and rigatoni’s wide, hollow shape that makes them perfect for a chunky sauce like this one. You can make the sauce a day or so in advance, just don’t add the ricotta or grated cheese until the last minute. This is a recipe that everybody loves and it is easy to make and so exemplary of Italian home cooking.
Here’s Lidia’s recipe…
Rigatoni Woodsman-Style (Lidia Bastianich)
(serves 6)
Ingredients
Salt
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced (about 1 and ¼ cup)
½ pound sweet Italian sausages, preferably seedless
1 pound assorted mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned, sliced thin(about 5 cups)
1 cup peeled, seeded, and diced fresh tomato, or 1 cup drained canned Italian plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 and ½ pound fresh peas, shelled (about 1 cup) or 1 cup frozen peas, defrosted and drained
Freshly ground pepper
1 and ½ cups chicken stock, vegetable stock or pasta cooking water
½ cup heavy cream
1 cup fresh ricotta cheese or packaged whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 cup freshly grated Grana Padana cheese, plus more for passing, if you like
Directions
Bring 6 quarts salted water to a boil in an 8-qt pot over high heat.
Heat the oil in a wide, heavy skillet over medium heat, toss in the onion and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 4 minutes.
Crumble the sausage into the skillet and stir, breaking up the sausage into small pieces as you do, until the sausage is lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
Stir about half the mushrooms into the sausage mixture. Add the remaining mushrooms as those in the pan wilt, making room for more.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the mushrooms are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. If the mushrooms give off liquid, allow time for the juices to boil off before the mushrooms start to brown.
Pour the tomatoes into the skillet, stir in the peas, and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat so the sauce is at a lively simmer, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook a minute or two.
Stir in the stock and bring to a boil. Cook until the sauce is lightly reduced and is perking like a little volcano, about 5 minutes.
Pour in the cream and bring to a boil. Spoon the ricotta into the sauce and stir gently to mix.
If the skillet is large enough to accommodate the sauce and pasta, fish the pasta out of the boiling water with a large wire skimmer and drop it directly in the skillet. If not, drain the pasta, return it to the pot and pour in the sauce.
Bring the sauce and pasta to a boil, stirring gently to coat the pasta with sauce.
Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup of grated cheese.
Check the seasonings, adding salt and pepper if necessary.
Spoon the rigatoni into warm bowls and serve immediately, passing additional cheese separately, if you like.
