One of the things I enjoy the most in my kitchen is planning a meal (not to confuse with meals planning :-D). When time allows, I like to sit with my culinary guides and come up with combos I haven’t tried before. This time I focused on enhancing pasta with wild mushrooms with an array of complementing and contrasting ingredients. The outcome – a delicious, savory and aromatic pasta bowl with just the right amount of sophistication and a gourmet feel.
The Flavour Affair:
Wild Mushrooms + Butter + Shallots + Thyme + Garlic + Red Vinegar + Persillade + Truffle Oil
Wild Mushrooms: I like dry wild or porcini mushrooms for their strong, intense aroma. You need to soak them first to soften. It takes a little time, but the soaking water takes in all the flavours and can be refrigerated for future use, for example, in soups or sauces.
Butter: more preferable than oil as it brings out the sweetness of mushrooms and adds a rich, creamy flavour.
Shallots: the taste of shallots is often described as a hybrid between onions and garlic. Sweet and pungent, they turn slightly bitter when caramelized, adding a nice contrast.
Thyme: savory and grounding, thyme complements the mushrooms with its herbaceous, earthy notes.
Garlic: while shallots already have garlicky undertones, I like to accentuate them by throwing in a couple extra cloves.
Red Wine Vinegar: the acidity of red vinegar balances the richness of butter and adds more depth to the sauce.
Persillade: persillade is quite simply a mix of chopped parsley with fresh minced garlic, lemon juice, red vinegar, salt and olive oil. Basically, it is a French version of chimichurri, gremolata etc. “Truffle persillade” just sounds neater than “truffle gremolata” 😀 The ingredients of persillade go extremely well with buttery earthy mushrooms. Parsley adds vibrant, peppery accents while tangy lemon brightens it up further. Fresh garlic comes with a distinctive aroma and a good deal of pungency. In this recipe, I skip the vinegar because I am already using it in the sauce, and swap olive oil for white truffle oil. White truffle oil has a robust taste and an unmistakable intense aroma. It is also considered a ‘fancy’ ingredient, so adding a drizzle is an easy way to give your meal a sophisticated, gourmet feel.
Preparation Tips for Pasta with Wild Mushrooms and Truffle Persillade:
- Soak the mushrooms in water for at least half an hour and reserve the soaking water. It retains the intense mushroomy taste and can (and should) be added to the pan to deepen the flavours. Refrigerate the remaining water and use it to jazz up soups and sauces (like in this Mushrooms and Cauliflower Cream Soup, Seared Scallops with Wild Mushroom Sauce or Butternut Squash and Porcini Pappardelle).
- Let the mushrooms cook with butter and aromatics for at least 20 minutes. Again, it will help making the flavour more pronounced.
- Prepare the truffle persillade by mixing together chopped parsley, minced garlic, white truffle oil, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Add the mixture to the pan with the sauce for the last 5 minutes of cooking.
- Emphasize the accents: garnish with more fresh parsley, add another drizzle of truffle oil and sprinkle over grated parmesan. Finish off with a couple of grinds of black pepper mill.
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***
Pasta with Wild Mushrooms and Truffle Persillade
Ingredients
- 300 g casarecce pasta
- 30 g dried mushrooms mixed wild or porcini
- 1 l water for soaking
- 30g butter
- 1 shallot sliced
- 2 garlic cloves lightly pressed
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 150 ml chicken stock
- 1/2 cup soaking water
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
For the persillade:
- 1/2 cups chopped parsley
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp white truffle oil
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 1 tsp each dried thyme and rosemary optional
For garnish:
- 2 tsp fresh chopped parsley
- White truffle oil
- Grated parmesan
Instructions
- Wash the mushrooms thoroughly to get rid of dirt.
- Place in a bowl with 1l water at room temperature and leave to soak for at least 30 minutes.
- Take out the mushrooms with a blotted spoon and wash again to eliminate the remaining dirt. Strain the soaking water and reserve.
- Cut the larger mushroom into halves or quarters.
- Melt 30g butter in a medium sized pan.
- Add the shallots and mushrooms and fry for 5-7 minutes until caramelized.
- Hit the pan with the chicken stock and bring to simmer. Add the garlic, thyme, soaking water and a splash of red wine vinegar and cook over low heat for at least 20 minutes. Add more soaking water if the liquid evaporates. Discard the thyme sprigs.
- In the meantime, prepare the persillade by mixing together 1/2 cups chopped parsley, minced garlic clove, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp truffle oil.
- Add persillade to the mushrooms for the last 5 minutes of cooking.
- Boil the pasta just short of al dente. Reserve 1/2 cups of cooking water. Drain, return to the pot and add the mushrooms mixture. Stir to combine and loosen with cooking water.
- Serve sprinkled with fresh parsley and parmesan and an extra drizzle of truffle oil.
Notes
- Instead of chicken stock you can also use dry white wine.
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