Mushroom Tagliatelle Pasta

As featured on Savor Dakota Episode 1: Spring

Ingredients

• 2 cups mix of fresh mushrooms (morel, shiitake, crimini, portobello, oyster) *cleaned and sliced
• 16 oz. pasta (tagliatelle, pappardelle, or bowties)
• salt and butter to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter**
• ¾ cup fresh basil (chiffonaded)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 shallot (peeled and diced small)
• 1 clove garlic (diced small)
• 5 quarts water
• parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions

1. Bring 5 quarts water to a boil; reduce heat to simmer.
2. Place large sauté pan on medium heat. Add olive oil and butter. Add wild mushrooms when butter begins to sizzle. Cook at least 10-15 minutes.
3. Add chopped shallot. Cook for 3 minutes.
4. Add remainder of mushrooms. Cook until soft.
5. Add garlic and salt. Cook for 2 minutes.
6. Add cream. Set aside.
7. Return water to boil. Add pasta. (Follow package instructions.)
8. Strain pasta. (Reserve 1 cup pasta water.)
9. Return mushroom mixture to medium heat. Add strained pasta.
10. Stir gently while cream reduces. (5-8 minutes.)
11. Add ¼ pasta liquid to bind sauce to pasta.
12. Add basil and parmesan.

Serves 4. Add crostini and pair with rose, sauvignon blanc or chardonnay.

*To prep wild mushrooms: Gently rub dirt from mushrooms with wet towel. Halve lengthwise. Dissolve 1 tablespoon salt in 8 cups water; soak for 15 minutes. Drain using colander to remove any sand. Dry on paper towels for 1 hour. Trim dark spots.

** Salted butter may be used, but you may want to reduce any added salt.

Tips:

Preparing Mushrooms

- Mushrooms pretty much are clean when you get them. If they do have a little dirt, take a wet paper towel and gently rub the dirt off each mushroom. On the stems you may either trim off and save to make mushroom stock, or slice and cook with the caps depending on the mushroom.

- Cut morels in half lengthwise and soak in water with 1 T. of salt dissolved in it.  Let the mushrooms soak for at least 15 minutes. Wash them like leeks; lifting them out of the water and placing in a colander. You may change out the water a few times depending on if you continue to see sand left in the bottom. If you just strain the water out, the sand and tiny bugs go back into the mushrooms.

- Let dry for a good hour on a sheet pan lined with paper towels. Trim off any blackness or bad spots on the morels you see. When purchasing wild mushrooms you would want to cook them for at least 10-15 minutes.  This makes it easier on your stomach to digest.

Cooking

- Parmesan Cheese: You may find the dish rich enough without the cheese.  Plus, it is nice to enjoy the flavor of the mushrooms

- Mushrooms may be cooked ahead of time and added at the end of the dish, in the last four minutes of cooking.

- Remember that minced garlic burns easily.  You may add it with another item, or towards the end of cooking the dish.

-You want to cook the mushrooms for at least 5-8 minutes until they are soft and have leached a little liquid out. Pour in the heavy cream and set the pan aside.

- You want to gently stir the pasta into the heavy cream along with the mushrooms while the heavy cream reduces.  This shouldn’t take but 5-8 minutes. 

Crostini

Ingredients

• 1 baguette (sliced)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Goat cheese (optional)

Directions

1. Place sauté pan on medium-low heat. Add butter and olive oil.

2. Using tongs, place baguette slices in melted butter and olive oil.

3. Heat until slightly brown on both sides.

4. Place on parchment paper or paper towel.

5. Add butter and olive oil as necessary.

You want the butter to be sizzling (not smoking) than gently place each slice into the pan and lightly brown on both sides. You may need to add more olive oil and butter to the pan depending on how many slices of baguette you are toasting.

Use tongs to turn the toast points.  Don’t let the pan get too hot or you will burn the slices. You want them to have a nice crunch and be slightly browned. Place the toast on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a paper towel after cooking.

These could be made hours ahead of time. Don’t refrigerate, just leave out at room temperature. This is another way to utilize all of the mushroom varieties that are out there. Chopped fresh tarragon at the end would be an alternative option instead of basil.

You could also sprinkle a little goat cheese on top of each crostini that has been topped with mushroom mixture and put in a 400º for less than a minute to melt the cheese.