Tonnarelli alla Boscaiola – Square-Cut Fresh “Spaghetti” with a Savory Mushroom Sauce Recipe
SQUARE-CUT FRESH “SPAGHETTI” WITH A SAVORY MUSHROOM SAUCE
Although cultivated mushrooms are available year-round, pasta with a richly seasoned, tomato-based mushroom sauce strikes me as a cool-weather meal. You can use standard supermarket button mushrooms for this recipe or any wild mushrooms you are lucky enough to get. If you use portobello mushrooms, scrape out the dark gills first.
This sauce is equally good on fresh and dried pasta. Pair it with spaghetti or farfalle when you don’t want to make the tonnarelli.
Serves 4 to 6
½ ounce dried porcini
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1½ pounds fresh mushrooms (see recipe introduction), ends trimmed, then halved and thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces pancetta, minced
½ large yellow onion, minced
1 celery rib, in small, neat dice
1 carrot, in small, neat dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh sage
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 pound ripe plum tomatoes, grated 1 pound Fresh Egg Pasta, cut as tonnarelli, or dried spaghetti or farfalle
²/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation instructions:
Soak the porcini in 1½ cups water for 1 hour. Lift out of the soaking liquid with a slotted spoon, leaving any grit behind. Chop the porcini, then strain the liquid through a sieve lined with a damp paper towel. Set the liquid aside.
Heat a very large skillet over high heat. When hot, add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. When the oil is almost smoking, add the fresh mushrooms. Let sizzle without stirring for a couple of minutes so the mushrooms brown nicely, then stir and continue cooking, stirring infrequently, until the mushrooms are tender and nicely browned all over, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and transfer to a plate.
Reduce the heat to moderately low. Return the skillet to the heat and add the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil and the pancetta. Cook briefly until the pancetta begins to crisp, then add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, sage, and rosemary. Cook slowly until the vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes and chopped porcini and simmer for about 5 minutes to soften the tomatoes, then return the browned mushrooms to the skillet. Add 1 cup of the strained porcini liquid and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to a simmer, cover, and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for 15 minutes to blend the flavors. Thin if necessary with the remaining porcini liquid.
While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Set aside 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta and return it to the warm pot over low heat. Add the sauce and toss, moistening with some of the reserved pasta water as needed. Add half of the cheese and toss again. Divide among warm bowls, topping each portion with some of the remaining cheese. Serve immediately.
Recipe from the “Four Seasons Pasta: A Year of Inspired Recipes in the Italian Tradition” cookbook.