"It Might Snow" Vegetable Stew

The first bitterly cold day of the year called for appropriate sustenance.

Despite the title, bear with me - does this "It Might Snow" Vegetable Stew not look yummy? The mushrooms were meaty and delicious, the steamed kale added a wonderful silky texture to the dish, and the winter squash melted into the sauce and thickened it beautifully. I cannot recommend this enough. It is the perfect winter pasta sauce recipe, though I confess to having added lentils to it the next day for lunch instead of pasta and liking it just as much, if not more.

This is one of those chain recipes -- Ottolenghi apparently made a mushroom lasagna recipe, which I saw modified on David Lebovitz's blog, and then adapted for my own needs. That's cooking, right? I will try the lasagna recipe one day but, in the meantime, please go and make this sauce and let me know what you think of it.

This makes about about 4 generous portions, and freezes very well.

1 bunch lacinato kale, thinly julienned

1/2 lb mushrooms ( I used a mix of brown and white button mushrooms and shiitake)

2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

2 sprigs of thyme, leaves only

2 Tbsps of olive oil

1 1/2 cups pumpkin of squash flesh (I microwaved a winter squash, whole, in the microwave for 10 minutes and, when it was cool enough to handle, cut it in half and scooped the flesh directly into the pan. You could also jus use a can of pumpkin puree left over from Thanksgiving...)

4 cups of your favorite tomato sauce (jarred is fine; I used this recipe)

Preheat the oven to 425.

Remove the stems from the mushrooms, set aside to use in stock. Roughly chop the mushroom caps, You could use your food processor but I wanted bits and pieces that I could taste in my sauce and didn't want the mushrooms blitzed to rubble in the processor.

Mix the mushrooms, olive oil and chopped garlic together well in a bowl. Salt to taste. Spread on a parchment paper lined baking tray and bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Do not stir.

While the mushrooms are baking, cook the kale by placing it in a steamer over water and steaming until silky and tender, about 8 minutes. You may be tempted to skip this step and just cook the kale directly in the tomato sauce but please don't as the texture will not be the same.

Heat the tomato sauce over low heat until bubbling around the edges. Add your squash or pumpkin to the sauce and stir, pressing down on the solids, until they dissolve into the sauce.

Tip in the mushrooms and any juices that have accumulated in the baking tray. Stir to combine, then add the kale and stir as well.

Taste for salt and then lower the heat, cover the pan, and let simmer for 5 to 10 minutes until the flavors have had the chance to mingle.

Serve over thick pasta, a hearty grain, or with lentils. Top with some Parmesan if so desired and some chopped basil leaves to add a bit of freshness.

Inspiration recipe, here.