This recipe comes from Cook Italy, where i had the opportunity to learn to make two different pasta dishes from Carmelita. This sausage and mushroom pasta served with freshly made tagliatelle was divine!
Be sure to try this butternut squash pasta or farfalle pasta with zucchini and ham, too.
The tagliatelle pasta for this recipe was made fresh, right at Carmelita’s table. It was made with the same pasta recipe we used to make the farfalle (bowtie) pasta, but cut instead into long strips. Once cut, we allowed the pasta to dry slightly on trays while we worked on making the sauce.
Sausage and Mushroom Pasta
So, here’s the thing that we learned from Carmelita. Americans are a bit heavy-handed with the pasta sauce. Good Italian pasta isn’t drenched in sauce. Rather, it’s lightly coated, allowing diners to enjoy the flavor of the pasta. (I mean, who’s gonna argue about tasting freshly made tagliatelle!??)
This sausage and mushroom pasta features both fresh and dried mushrooms, giving the sauce a rich, earthy flavor. You’ll soak the dried porcini mushrooms in water to rehydrate them before adding them to the sauce. Reserve the liquid, as you’ll add that to the sauce. No sense sending that flavor down the drain!
We picked up fresh sausage from the butcher in the Quadrilatero market, but you could use your favorite Italian sausage.
This recipe is made with fresh tagliatelle pasta, which we made from scratch along with farfalle pasta. Instead of cutting the pasta into bowties, we cut it into long tagliatelle. Click over to see that recipe and the process of making homemade Italian pasta from scratch.
Of course, if you’re looking for a shortcut, you could certainly use dried pasta.
Ingredients
- 1/3 ounce dried porcini mushrooms (10 grams)
- 4 sprigs flat leaf parsley chopped
- 5/8 cup tagliatelle pasta (400 grams)
- 2/3 cup fresh mushrooms sliced (300 grams)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1/4 pound ground pork sausage (113 grams)
- 1-2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in hot water for 10-15 minutes. Drain and reserve mushroom liquor. Chop rehydrated mushrooms into 1/4" pieces.
- Remove stems from parsley. Dice leaves and set aside.
- Place fresh sliced mushrooms in a pan and cook over medium heat with no added fat. Allow mushrooms to brown, stirring occasionally. When nicely colored, add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil along with the rehydrated porcini mushrooms. Transfer to bowl.
- Add sausage to the pan and cook until brown and crumbled.
- Turn off heat until you're ready to add the pasta to the pot. (This allows you to get part of your meal prepared ahead of time!)
- Bring 6 quarts of water to boil in a large stock pot. Transfer freshly made tagliatelle pasta to the boiling water and boil for 1 to 3 minutes. Fresh pasta takes substantially less time to cook than dried pasta.
- When you begin cooking the pasta, add parsley and garlic to the pan of sausage along with the mushrooms and return to heat.
- Add a walnut sized piece of butter (that's Carmelita's phrase — let's say a tablespoon or two!) and the reserved liquid from the porcini mushrooms to the pan. Allow to simmer for a minute or two.
- Drain the pasta, toss with the mushroom sauce, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
