Pasta with Wild Mushroom Sauce
Posted by bellastraniera - 06/10/09 at 11:10 am There are so many different varieties of mushrooms arriving at the market right now, like these at Dean & Deluca, below, that it’s hard to choose just one. How can you settle for just cremini when chanterelles, oyster mushrooms, and hen o woods are right nearby? Usually the answer comes down to price: the fanciest mushrooms can cost $45 a pound, so many cooks stick to the basics. But keep in mind that just an ounce of mushrooms can go a long way flavor-wise, so cooking with exotic mushrooms can be done with little pain to your wallet. Just use a higher proportion of less-expensive mushrooms (cremini) and a smaller proportion of the pricier ones (chanterelles).
One of the best recipes that uses wild mushrooms is one by Melissa Clark for the Times in the spring of 2007, for creamed morels on toast. But what about fall, when morels aren’t in season? All the mushrooms I found at Dean & Deluca would be excellent with cream and white wine on toast, but I wanted to feature them in a main dish. The creamed mushrooms became an unorthodox French pasta sauce served on linguine – though for a really stellar effect, serve the mushroom sauce over fresh, homemade fettuccine.
Recipe: Pasta with Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce
8 oz. mixed mushrooms – cremini, oyster, hen o woods, black trumpet, chanterelle, etc.
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 large shallot, chopped fine
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. white wine
1 tbsp. chopped fresh chives, plus more for garnish
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
kosher salt
3/4 lb. fresh fettuccine or dried pasta like linguine
Wash the mushrooms thoroughly, since they will be gritty, and dry with a paper towel. Make sure you get all the grit off. Trim the ends and thinly slice them lengthwise.
Put a large saute pan over high heat until it feels hot, add the butter, and reduce the heat to medium. Add the shallot, stir, and saute until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper to taste. Add the wine, cover the pot, and cook for 5 minutes more.
Uncover the pot, stir in the cream, and simmer until it’s slightly thickened, about 2 minutes more.
Meanwhile, add a handful of kosher salt to 6 quarts of water and cook the pasta until al dente. Before draining the pot, dip a measuring cup in the pasta water and take out about 1/2 cup water.
Taste the sauce for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as necessary. The sauce should be liquid enough to coat the pasta, so add a little of the pasta cooking water if necessary. Add chives to the sauce, stir, then stir in cooked pasta. Serve immediately, garnished with fresh chives.
Serves 4 as an entree, 6 as an appetizer
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bellastraniera
a.k.a. Marcy Swingle - obsessed with food and fashion.
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