comfort

Autumn is undeniably the time when I feel the most vulnerable. I have often wondered why Winter doesn't bring out these feelings in me, but I guess by the time she arrives I am already "locked in" and ready to go. I think it is because the transition between Summer and Autumn isn't subtle or progressive. It just hits you. One day you are wearing shorts and a t-shirt and the next, you wake up and you are forced to reach for a sweater. From a food-lover's perspective, one day you are eating ceviche and then, boom, you are in the mood for ratatouille. Sudden and destabilising, but not entirely unpleasant!

By nature I usually require a more subtle transition and I must ease into new realities. Autumn, however, does not waste time. She just arrives, uninvited. The nerve! She comes, with her blustery days and foggy mornings and yet, for a solid month, I continue to leave the house sockless and sweaterless, in complete denial that Summer has left me for good (or at least until next year).

But Autumn is cunningly beautiful, with her flamboyant colours, her crisp, clean air, her sharp and contrasting lighting, and, yes, the bounty of her food.  Such inviting, warm-hued ingredients. They tuck you in and they prepare you for the long winter months ahead. They bring you comfort when you are at your most vulnerable.

Polenta with Sausage, Tomato and Wild Mushroom Ragù
Serves 4

This dish requires a little multitasking but there isn't much prep work involved and you should be all done within an hour or so. Boil the water for the polenta one one burner while you brown your sausages on another. Then, set aside your sausages and get going on your polenta. Once you've finished that initial 5 minute stir, cover the polenta and continue on with the sausages. Both dishes will be ready after about 45 minutes. The result is delicious, rustic and comforting.  

Polenta
From Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking".
Marcella is usually my go-to girl when it comes to classic Italian dishes. Her polenta recipe has never failed me and this is why I always turn to it. 

Ingredients
7 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
1 2/3 cups coarse-grained imported Italian yellow cornmeal
Directions
1. Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy pot.
2. Add the salt, keep the water boiling at medium-high heat, and add the cornmeal in a very thin stream, either with a measuring cup or by letting a fistfull run through your nearly closed fingers. While adding the cornmeal, stir constantly with a whisk and make sure that the water is always boiling. 
3. Once the meal has been poured entirely, begin to stir with a wooden spoon. The classic way to prepare the polenta would be for you to go at this for a full 45 minutes. Though some Italian cooks would strongly disagree, constant stirring is not required!  Even Marcella says so! Instead, once you have finished adding the cornmeal, stir the polenta for 5 minutes and cover the pot. Make sure to adjust the heat so that the water bubbles at a very lively simmer but not at a full boil. When the polenta has cooked for 10 minutes, uncover and stir for 1 full minute, then cover again. Continue this for about 40 minutes. For the final 5 minutes, stir the polenta vigorously so that it loses its graininess. It is ready when it pulls cleanly away from the sides of the pot. I usually add a bit of salt as well as a large nob of butter and about half a cup of grated parmigiano, before plating. This dish calls for serving the polenta immediately, while it is hot. That said, one day you might try pouring it directly onto a wooden block and letting it cool. You could also pour it into a moistened glass bowl or dish, let cool for fifteen minutes and unmold upside down onto a platter.  It is wonderful grilled or served sliced with grilled vegetables or meat.

Sausage, Tomato and Wild Mushroom Ragù
Ingredients
Olive oil
4 Italian sausages (pork or chicken, spicy or not)
3 garlic cloves
1 large can of Italian tomatoes, with their juices
Fresh thyme
Fresh rosemary
Half a pound (8-10 oz) fresh chanterelles
1 shallot
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
1. In a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot or saucepan large enough to simmer all ingredients, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil,  brown the sausages, remove them and set aside.
2. Peel and smash the garlic with the back of a knife. Add one or two tablespoons of olive oil to that which is already in the pan, add the garlic and turn the heat on to medium. The garlic must not brown but rather gently infuse the oil for a few minutes. Add tomatoes and their juice as well as a pinch of salt and roughly chop the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon. Cover and let simmer for twenty minutes, stirring once or twice.
3. Meanwhile, clean the mushrooms with a cloth or paper towel. Tear them or cut them up lengthwise in two or three pieces, depending on their size. Finely chop the shallot.
4. In a frying pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil and throw the mushrooms in, with a small pinch of salt, stirring at medium heat until the mushrooms begin to sweat. Throw in the shallot, blend and let sweat for another two or three minutes until shallots are soft. Set aside.
5. Finish breaking tomatoes down with your spoon. Add sausages and mushrooms  and throw in a sprig of rosemary and a few of thyme. The sausages should be at least half-way covered in the sauce. Place pan cover back on and let it all simmer gently, not boil, for another twenty minutes, turning sausages once or twice so that they cook through evenly. Uncover and gently stir for a few minutes to reduce liquids. Your tomatoes should come out of this looking stewy, that is, not too liquidy and not too dry. Add a few grindings of pepper and salt, if necessary (the sausages should be salty enough to season the sauce).
6. Serve over polenta with freshly grated parmigiano sprinkled on top.

Variation: reconstitute two or three ounces of dried porcini, drain them over a bowl through a paper-towel lined sieve and, when adding the chanterelles, throw the porcini into the sausages with a few tablespoons of their soaking water. The porcini will add some depth to the dish, but be careful not to use too many as they will overpower the delicately flavoured chanterelles.