I mentioned those hanging tomatoes in my last post, and it took me a while to get back to everyone, my internet was on the fritz for a few days, but it is up and running again today. I promised pasta on my facebook page, and pasta I will deliver. I have been throwing these tomatoes into everything since I bought them, they add wonderful juice, flavor and that splash of color that is always delicious.

We had a lot of rain at the end of November, which meant that there have been some gorgeous mushrooms in the markets. I bought two different kinds to make my pasta and the results were fabulous. The cardoncelli mushroom is the browner of the two, and though my veggie guy told me the name of the grey one, I can’t remember what it is. I’ll get back to you on that one.

This was delicious, a mushroom pasta as it is supposed to be, there were different elements of flavor, a good sauce was created and pasta nests are always fun and delicious. The last tab of butter was the perfect touch to bring all of the flavors together in the end. I wish I had a plate of this in front of me now.

Pappardelle with Wild Mushrooms

• 1 pound fresh wild mushrooms
• 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed and left whole
• 4 over ripe cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh Italian Parsley
• tab of butter
• 1/2 lb of pappardelle pasta, fresh would be amazing, but the dry nests are pretty good too
• salt to taste

Fill a large pot with water for the pasta. Bring to a boil over high heat.

Using a soft brush or a clean kitchen towel, remove any dirt from the mushrooms. Remove and discard any tough stems or woody parts. Slice the mushrooms thinly.

Heat oil in a wide saucepan over medium-high heat and add the whole cloves of garlic. When garlic starts to sizzle add the whole tomatoes, tossing occasionally, allowing the tomatoes to break down a bit. After about a minute, using the back of your spoon press on the tomato so that it releases its juices and breaks up. Add the mushrooms at this point and sauté them until they are softened and release their liquid into the pan, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the white wine and raise the heat to medium and continue cooking until the liquid evaporates.

Once the water starts to boil for the pasta add a small handful of salt to the water and bring to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.

When the pasta is perfectly al dente, reserve a cup of the pasta water in case the pasta dries out when tossing it. Turn up the heat under the mushrooms and drain the pasta. Without shaking all of the water out of the colander pour the pasta into the pan and toss it with the sauce. This allows for the pasta to cook a little longer in the sauce and to absorb the flavor. Add the reserved pasta water if needed. Turn the heat off and toss the pasta with the parsley and the tab of butter until the butter is melted and coating the pasta.

Serve immediately with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.

One Year Ago: Moroccan Chicken with Apricots, Almonds and Couscous

Two Years Ago: Turkey Tetrizzini

Three Years Ago:  Focaccia & Linguine con Finocchio e Sarde

Four Years Ago: Salsicce sulla Pietra Ollare & Sfogliatella

~ by italicious on December 6, 2012.

Posted in mushrooms, parsley, pasta, primi, tomatoes, vegetarian
Tags: pappardelle, pasta, primi, tomatoes, vegetarian, wild mushrooms