Tag Archives: porcini

Tagliatelle with Porcini Mushrooms

Foodbuzz 24 x 24 | An Ode to Orvieto

This recipe was a part of a special menu for Foodbuzz’s June 2011 food blogger party, 24×24. Showcasing posts from 24 Foodbuzz Featured Publisher bloggers, the monthly Foodbuzz 24 highlights unique meals occurring around the globe during a 24-hour period. Read more about my meal along with all of the other recipes at An Ode to Orvieto.

No hyperbole employed, the first time that I ate this pasta, everything was illuminated.  My good buddy and a beautiful soul through and through, Lauren S., was a huge fan of this itty bitty restaurant in Orvieto called Mezza Luna.  While we all had our favorite lunch spots (mine was Al Pozzo Etrusco and their pappardelle con cinghiale), occasionally we’d branch out and hit up a friend’s spot of choice.  In a true moment of “when in Rome, do as the Romans do” I ordered the same as Lauren – a simple green salad dressed with olive oil and vinegar, a bottle of Orvieto Classico, and a plate of the tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms.  The dish emerged from the kitchen, delicately sauced with butter and wine, brightened by a bit of parsley and just swimming with an abundance of the earthy mushrooms.  It was ridiculously simple home cooking, begging the question as to whether could replicate this lunchtime joy back stateside.  It was destiny that I would at least try.

The beauty if this pasta is that to get it right, you keep your flavors delicate.  True to the region (and diametrically opposed to most recipes for wild mushroom pasta), the mushrooms aren’t overshadowed by garlic or red pepper.  Simply tagliatelle, mushrooms, wine and butter, with a little chicken stock to gloss the strands of pasta into a heavenly state.  The pasta should definitely be fresh, but use whatever cut you’d like.  A fettucine width works well, but if you have fresh linguini or angel hair, they’ll be perfectly fine as stand-ins.  Also, I used dried porcini to keep an earthy flavor and the ability to cook this dish all year round.  However, if you can get your hands on fresh porcini (or even royal trumpets or ivory portobellos), by all means use them.

Recipe for

Tagliatelle with Porcini Mushrooms

Ingredients
1.5 oz. of dried porcini mushrooms
2 1/2 c. of stock (chicken or vegetable)

2 lb. of fresh tagliatelle
1 tbs. of olive oil
1/4 c. of fresh parsley, chopped
1 c. of stock (chicken or vegetable)
1 c. of white wine
4 cloves of garlic
2 fresh bay leaves
1/4 c. of the porcini liquid
4 tbs. of butter

Begin by adding the mushrooms to the 2 1/2 cups of stock.  Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat.  Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  In a skillet, warm the olive oil over high heat.  Drain the mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid, and add them to the olive oil, along with the whole garlic cloves and bay leaves.  Add the wine and allow to reduce by half.  Add the 1 c. of stock and reduce by half.  Add the porcini soaking liquid and allow to simmer on medium-low.  Cook your pasta until al dente (about 3 minutes) and drain.  Add pasta to the mushroom sauce and plunk in the butter, tossing the pasta to form a glossy sauce.  If the pasta is a bit dry, add some more of the porcini soaking liquid.  Top with the parsley and serve with grated locatelli.

An Ode to Orvieto

Back when I was in college, I studied abroad in Italy on a minor in black and white photography.  Little did I know that my time spent in an art school in the sleepy town of Orvieto would inspire me with ever so many culinary delights.  Simple lunches consisted of ingredients considered haute in the states – fresh porcini mushrooms, black truffles, fava beans and homemade gelato.  All was washed down with a crisp, luscious white wine called Orvieto Classico (with a recipe dating back to Ancient Roman times).  It was a dream.

As a recent ex-pat of New York City, I’ve made fast culinary friends here in Phoenix, many of whom are voracious foodies.  As a means of treating them to the delights I tasted and experienced in Orvieto, I decided to prepare a full-on feast celebrating the dishes that managed to stay imprinted in my memory.  Incredibly, FoodBuzz felt that my plan was lovely enough to include it in the 24×24 for July 2011 – a monthly event showcasing posts from 24 Foodbuzz Featured Publisher bloggers from around the globe during a 24-hour period. The moment I found out the good news, it was on like donkey kong.

This menu celebrates fresh ingredients highlighted as stars of simply prepared dishes – fava bean bruschetta shines with the addition of salty pecorino and floral mint.  Fresh tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms take the stage as a reminder of an Orvieto lunch favorite.  And I can’t forget the dish that made me question all I’d known about pasta up until the first time I tasted it – drunken pasta cooked in red wine until purple with a blond oxtail ragu (no tomatoes!)  Madness, but delicious all the same.  A sliced tenderloin of beef with creamy artichokes serves the main course, a stunner for anyone with expensive tastes and a limited budget.  Dessert is a glorious scoop of bacio gelato, an addictive combination of dark chocolate and hazelnuts. And for a last taste, the most beautiful digestivo with a homemade limoncello that will impress the pants off of anyone you deem worthy enough to try it.

For a play-by-play of the culinary goodness that occured in my 24×24, click on the links to the individual recipes below. Each one has a lovely history attached, and cooking them again for the folks here in the lawless desert reminded me of how blissful it can be to take a little time to celebrate the ingredients that inspire and amaze.

Crostini di Fave

Buttery fava beans and fruity olive oil get their swerve on in this luscious topping for crunchy toasts.

Tagliatelle with Porcini Mushrooms

This tangle of fresh pasta, mushrooms, wine, butter and parmesan is trouble.  Like eat the whole bowl with no regrets kind of trouble.  I completely authorize your using your fork as a weapon to keep away anyone who wants to steal a bite.

Drunken Pasta with Blond Oxtail Ragu

The drunken bit refers to cooking the pasta in red wine, which gives it a gorgeous garnet hue.  And the blond reference in the ragu means no tomatoes – just fall off the bone beef slow simmered with veggies and more wine.  Oh so good and well-worth trying.

Beef Tenderloin with Artichokes in Bechamel

The beef tenderloin is treated rather simply with just a smattering of salt and pepper, but then the lily is gilded with an accompaniment of artichokes in cream sauce.

Bacio Gelato

Creamy and decadent, here I use the clutch recipe from Ciao Bella to get the job done.

Homemade Limoncello

This one takes time to mellow into happiness, but if you leave it alone to do its thing, you’ll be rewarded with golden nectar from the gods.  Or at least that’s what it tastes like after you’ve knocked back a few chilled glasses of the goodness.