Tasty Ragout Dish Imparts Feelings Of Warmth, Comfort

Realtors suggest putting a pot of apple cider with cloves and cinnamon sticks on the stove to simmer when you show your home. The scent triggers a nesting instinct in potential buyers.

To create an inviting atmosphere in my kitchen (luring my Two’s Company partner to the nest), I put a pot of dried wild mushrooms on the stove. The woodsy, meaty aroma suggests that a hearty, delicious dinner is in the works.

I think that just heating a pot of beef broth with wild mushrooms would do the trick, though it’s hardly fair to whet an appetite and then deliver a thin broth with floating mushrooms. Instead, I make Bean and Sausage Ragout.

Chock-full of beans, kielbasa and vegetables, this dish is as robust as it is aromatic. It’s a long-cooking recipe that develops its flavor gradually. Prepare it on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and warm up the house for a loved one.

To finish the meal, serve sorbet. Even though it’s mid-winter, a fruit-based frozen dessert is a refreshing counterpoint to the ragout. Choose a favorite flavor or prepare the Pear Sorbet that follows using only the sweetest and juiciest Bartletts.

Bean and Sausage Ragout

1 cup Great Northern beans

1/2 cup dried wild mushrooms (preferably porcini)

1 cup boiling hot water

1 quart beef broth

1/8 teaspoon dried, crushed thyme

1/2 pound kielbasa, sliced inch thick

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 shallots, diced

1 medium carrot, diced

2 cups slivered cabbage

Salt, freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Place beans in large pan with twice the depth of water. Bring to boil. Boil 1 minute. Cover pan, turn off heat and set aside 1 hour. Drain water.

Place mushrooms in heatproof cup or bowl. Pour in boiling water and set aside 15 minutes.

Return beans to pot along with beef broth and thyme. Place strainer over pot. Strain mushroom liquid into beans to remove any grit in liquid. Spoon mushrooms out of strainer and add to beans.

Place kielbasa in large skillet and cook over medium heat until browned, turning slices over once, about 3 minutes per side. Add kielbasa to beans. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, pour off fat from skillet. Add oil to skillet and heat. Add shallots and carrot and saute over low heat until shallots are transparent, about 5 minutes.

When beans are tender, add shallots, carrot and cabbage to pan. Cover and simmer until cabbage is tender, but still has some body, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and plenty of pepper.

To serve, pour into 2 large soup bowls. Sprinkle each serving with 2 tablespoons cheese. Serve hot. Yield: 2 servings.

Pear Sorbet

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons water

3 medium very ripe Bartlett pears, cored

1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon pear liqueur or brandy (see note)

Combine sugar and water in small pan. Bring to boil and cook until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool.

Place pears in small metal bowl and mash until pulpy, using back of fork. Stir in lemon juice and sugar solution. Stir in pear liqueur.

If using ice cream machine, chill mixture in refrigerator 1 hour, then process according to manufacturer’s directions.

If preparing by hand, place bowl in freezer until mixture is slushy, 1 to 2 hours. Remove from freezer and serve immediately, or stir and return to freezer 1 hour longer (to make finer consistency sorbet).

Yield: 2 servings.

Note: If not using pear liqueur, add additional 1 teaspoon lemon juice to mixture.