pappardelle with creamy mushroom sauce

Do you like mushrooms?

Mushrooms are one of my favourite things to eat. They are packed with flavour, and some mushrooms, like the Portobello mushrooms, taste so "meaty" that I am happy to go vegetarian once in a while.

In addition, mushrooms have that mysterious "umami" taste which is loved by so many.

The LAM and I went to Dempsey for dinner one night, and decided to have a look inside Culina. It is always dangerous when the LAM and I enter any deli, and sure enough, we were decidedly poorer when we left, as we came out with bags of dried porcini mushrooms and chanterelle mushrooms. These mushrooms ain't cheap, but the good news is, they add so much flavour to any dish that only a little is required each time.

I started by soaking the dried mushrooms in water. Once they had been rehydrated, I drained them, and reserved the mushroom liquid.

In a heated Dutch Oven, I added some olive oil. Into this, I added the diced onions. The onion was cooked until they became soft and translucent. This should take about 5 minutes.

While that happened. I roughly chopped the rehydrated mushrooms.

I added minced garlic to the onions, and gave that a quick stir (about 30 seconds). Then I added the dried mushrooms.

This was cooked for about 2 minutes before the sliced button mushrooms were added.

I stirred the mushroom around, and when the mushrooms had been cooked down, I added the white wine. Using the spatula, I scrapped at the bottom of the Dutch oven to dislodge the bits that were stuck.

Then I added the reserved mushroom liquid and lowered the heat.

Add the cream to the sauce. If you prefer a thicker sauce, stir in some cornflour slurry.

I seasoned the sauce with salt and pepper, and it was left to simmer on low heat.

In the meantime, I cooked the pasta.

After reserving some pasta water, drained the pasta.

If the mushroom sauce is too thick. thin it with a little pasta water.

Then the dish was served.

A quick but delicious vegetarian dish!

RECIPE
Linguine with Creamy Mushroom Sauce (Serves 4)

Ingredients:
500g linguine
20g porcini mushrooms, rehydrate and reserve the liquid
20g chanterelle mushrooms, rehydrate and reserve the liquid
300g button mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, diced
2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine -  I used Chardonnay
1 1/2 cup liquid from soaking dried mushroom
1/4 cup cream or milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely grounded black pepper
1 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped

Method:
1. Saute diced onions in olive oil until soft and translucent. Add garlic and cook for 30
 seconds.
2. Add dried mushrooms. Cook for 2 mins, then add fresh mushrooms and continue to cook until mushrooms have been cooked down, about 3-4 minutes. Stir occasionally.
3. Add dry white wine. Cook for about 1-2 minutes to allow most of the wine to evaporate. Scrap the bottom of the casserole to dislodge any bits that are stuck.
4. Add mushroom liquid. Stir and bring to the boil.
5. Add cream or milk to the sauce, and if the sauce is too thin, thicken with a slurry of cornflour and water (1 teaspoon cornflour mixed with 1 teaspoon water).
6. Season with salt and pepper.
7. In the meantime, cook the linguine according to the manufacturer's instructions.
8. Garnish with chopped Italian parsley and serve immediately.