Linguine casserole with zucchini and portobello mushrooms

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 300 g water
• 6 g chicken broth, granulated
• 70 g linguine, narrow, dried
• 160 g white portobello mushrooms (see note)
• 1 m.-large zucchini, green
• 4 m.-large tomato(s), fully ripe
• e.g. sunflower oil
• 180 g Pecorino, coarsely grated, alternatively mountain cheese
• 50 g smoked bacon cubes, streaky
• 4 small onions, red
• 2 medium-sized garlic cloves
• 2 m.-large tomato(s), fully ripe
• 1 small chili pepper(s), green, fresh or frozen
• 3 tbsp celery, just the stalks, fresh or frozen
• 80 g tomato juice
• 70 g cooking water from the pasta
• 1 tbsp, heaped tomato paste
• 1 tbsp, heaped paprika powder, sweet
• 1 tsp Italian herbs, frozen or dried
• 1 tbsp, leveled cornstarch
• 1 tbsp celery leaves, fresh or frozen
• e.g. celery leaves, fresh or frozen

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

A meatless main course (Secondo Piatto) from the province of Liguria, Italy.

Finely chop the first 6 ingredients for the sauce. Peel and deseed the tomatoes. Use the chili with the seeds. Heat 2 tablespoons of the sunflower oil in a pan. Fry the bacon cubes over moderate heat until fragrant. Add the chopped onions and garlic cloves and fry until the onions are translucent. Add the diced tomatoes and fry for 2 minutes. Deglaze with the tomato juice and simmer gently with the lid on for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside. Bring the water to a boil and dissolve the chicken stock in it. Add the trimmed linguine and cook al dente according to the package instructions. Strain the linguine, leaving it in the sieve and reserving the stock. Add all the remaining ingredients to the sauce, except for the celery leaves, which are mixed in just before use, and mix in. Trim the portobello mushrooms and remove the gills on the underside. Halve lengthwise and cut crosswise into approximately 3 mm thin slices. Wash the zucchini and cut into approximately 5 mm thick slices. Fry the slices on both sides in plenty of sunflower oil until browned. Drain on kitchen paper. Wash the tomatoes, remove the stems, peel them, quarter them lengthwise, and remove the green core and seeds. Flatten the quarters slightly. Brush a baking dish with some of the sunflower oil, spread 5 tablespoons of the sauce (mixed with the celery leaves) on the bottom, and spread one-third of the linguine on top. Sprinkle with one-third of the pecorino and top with the mushrooms. Top with the second third of the linguine and the pecorino, and cover with half of the sauce. Arrange the zucchini slices on top and cover with the rest of the linguine. Finish with the tomato quarters and drizzle with the rest of the sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining pecorino. Bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees Celsius (bottom heat) for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, garnish, and serve hot in the casserole dish. Note: Portobello mushrooms (white or brown) belong to the button mushroom family. Further information is available online.