Porcini mushroom pappardelle
I think we can all agree that pasta is my favorite dish, I make it multiple times a week and I think you should too. Pasta is healthy and you can add all sorts of veggies to make it more nutrient dense. Here I added a fall/winter favorite of mine and this sauce is a staple at the moment in our restaurant.
Pasta is healthy!
As I said, Italians eat pasta everyday and they are one of the healthiest people on the planet. But you can never do harm with adding a little extra green or veggie into your pasta to make it healthier and tastier too!
What can you add?
Spinach, I think spinach goes well with the mushrooms and pasta as it’s taste is rather mild and it adds a good portion of nutrients to the dish. Just add the spinach to the sauce and let it wilt for 1-2 minutes before adding the pasta and serving up.
Kale, is another good veggie to add into this dish. I think the bitterness of the kale goes so well with the mushrooms. The other week at the restaurant I made a limited edition wild mushroom and kale pizza which was just perfect. So yeah go ahead and add lots of kale. Add the kale into the pastawater 3-4 minutes before draining the pasta to soften. Then just add with the pasta into the sauce
Other mushrooms, I only used porcini for this recipe but you could add all different kinds of mushrooms into this dish.
Where can I find porcini?
I hear ya! Finding porcini mushrooms isn’t always easy. I got mine from my wholesaler, frozen. Ask your local supermarket if they carry them or if you can order them. For my Belgian friends, I know Carrefour has a frozen mixed mushrooms with porcini. Also Hanos and Sligro have porcini mushrooms. If you really can’t find any, use any mushrooms you like and add dried porcini just for flavor. The dried version is more common in supermarkets.
This recipe serves 4 people
Ingredients
500 gr of porcini mushrooms
2 garlic cloves,
2 tbs of chopped flatleaf parsley + extra for garnish
4 tbs of olive oil
50 ml of white wine or 1/2 lemon
200ml of plant based cream
1 mushroom stock cube dissolved in 250ml of water
salt and pepper to taste
400-500 gr of pappardelle pasta (tagliatelle or fettuccine works too)
Plantbased parmesan cheese, my favorite is gondino
How to
Start by boiling some water for the pasta.
Meanwhile heat up the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
Add the garlic and parsley. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
Add the white wine or lemon and mushroom stock, simmer for 2 minutes.
Then pour in the cream and bring to a simmer.
Let the sauce simmer until thickened. How to check for the right thickness: The sauce should coat your spoon evenly but still be dripping off.
Cook the pasta al dente and reserve a cup of the pasta water before draining.
Add the pasta to the sauce and stir so all the pasta is coated in the sauce. Add a little pasta water if the sauce gets too thick.
Serve with the grated parmesan, black pepper and parsley.
Buon appetito!
