Not Writin' Rations™

Too fiddly for Writin' Rations™, but one of the best sauces I've ever made. We had it tonight on penne, with a side of garlic bread. (Does my family know how lucky they are?)

Mushroom and Cinnamon Sauce

• About a pound/500 grams of mushrooms (any ol' kind of mushrooms will do), cleaned up the way you like to clean them, and sliced


• A couple of tablespoons of olive oil


• One fresh chilli (I used a jalapeño because that's what I had), seeded and with the white stuff cut out (you're aiming for just a little bit of heat) and chopped finely


• A 1-inch/2.5cm-square piece of REAL CINNAMON BARK* if you can get it; one "cinnamon" stick (really cassia in most cases) if you can't, a teaspoon of the powdered stuff as a last resort


• A half-cup or so of tomato paste


• Some salt


• Some pepper


• A tablespoon of paprika (the mild stuff)


• A handful of raisins/sultanas


• A cup of chopped red pepper/capsicum


• A handful of pistachios (although I suppose you could use walnuts if you wanted)


• Water, maybe two cups or so


• A half to three-quarters of a cup of cream ("pure" cream, as the Australians disturbingly call it. "Pure" as opposed to what?)

Heat the olive oil and cook the mushrooms and chilli until the mushrooms are no longer obviously extremely raw.

Add the paprika, salt, pepper, cinnamon, tomato paste, raisins, red pepper, and water, and cook very gently for quite a while, maybe even a half hour. Maybe even more. It should be pretty thick by then.

A few minutes before serving, take the cinnamon bark/stick out, add the pistachios and cream, and heat through. Check to see if it needs anything, and if it does, meet its needs.

Like I said, we had it over penne, but I bet it would be superb over rice. It was pronounced "weird" by one family member, who nevertheless cleaned her plate. If you were Hungarian or Georgian or from somewhere Adriatic-esque, maybe it would taste just like what you're used to. Try it!

*Wollongong readers may be interested to learn that I purchased mine yesterday at Wollongong Nut & Deli, the very best shop of any kind whatsoever in all of the Illawarra.