Once again, I’m here to remind you that, when it comes to authentic cooking, the Italian way is smooth and easy: making pasta with mushrooms follows the flow and calls for just a few ingredients. Gather together garlic, olive oil, fresh parsley, and chili. Then, choose the pasta and the mushrooms – most probably the ones you’ll find at the market.
Finally, put on the apron and a cheerful Italian playlist and indulge in a Fall gastronomic adventure.
What mushrooms for pasta
Here, I used the mushrooms I found at my greengrocer: Cardoncelli, King Trumpet, and Pioppini, Black Poplar, and mixed them. But I’ve tried the recipe also with Porcini and Champignons!
About quantities and serving
I usually cook between 80 (2.8) and 100 grams (3.5 oz) of pasta per person. I add twenty to fifty grams (0.7 to 1.8 oz) to each serving if I buy some delicious “pasta fresca”, fresh pasta, at the neighborhood lab. This, as I consider it a main dish to be accompanied by a salad or other vegetable side dish.
Traditionally, for a mushroom condiment, in Italy we opt for long-shaped pasta: the ones that sound best to me are Linguine, Fettuccine, Tagliolini, Tagliatelle, and Pappardelle. This doesn’t mean that we limit ourselves and neglect other short-shaped pastas!
For the condiment, 250 grams (8.8 oz) of mushrooms is enough for two servings. But I might even double that if we are hungry or craving mushrooms like we always are at the beginning of the season.
the last cookbooks
VENICE
The city of Opulence.
FLORENCE
The city of Renaissance.
MATERA
The city of Sassi.
Pasta with mushrooms the Italian way
Ingredients
- 3.5 oz pasta of your choice 200 gr
- 8.8 oz mushrooms Champignons, Porcini, King Trumpet, or Black Poplar - 250 gr
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon parsley freshly chopped
- 1 chili pepper our Peperoncino
- sea salt and pepper
Instructions
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Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil - about two liters (half a gallon) and one tablespoon of salt.
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Meanwhile, clean the mushrooms under the - cold - running water, just the time to loosen any dirt. Dry them with a kitchen cloth and slice them by a centimeter (scarcely half an inch) vertically.
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With the blade of a large knife flat on it, crush the garlic clove by pressing your lower palm - no need to peel it.
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If you like spicy flavors, carve the chili and keep the seeds. If not, keep it whole, and you'll get a slight hint of spicy.
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Finely chop the parsley.
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In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium/low heat for a minute or so. Add the garlic and the chili pepper, and sautè them until the garlic gets a brownish crust. Immediately discard them. Toss in the mushrooms, a pinch of salt, and half the parsley. Mix, cover, and cook for less than ten minutes. Check every now and then, especially after a couple of minutes: if needed, add a quarter cup of water to avoid the mushrooms from sticking to the pan.
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Toss the pasta into the boiling water and cook it according to the package directions for "al dente". A couple of minutes before, collect some of the starchy cooking water with a cup and set it aside.
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Once both the pasta and the mushrooms are done, drain the first and transfer it to the skillet. Add a couple of tablespoons of the pasta cooking water - more if the mushrooms turned out very dry, but I doubt it. Combine well, turn the heat to high, and sautè until a creamy film enfolds the pasta.
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Garnish with the remaining parsley, and serve your pasta with mushrooms hot.
Enjoy your easy Italian pasta with mushrooms!
Claudia