Crimini Pasta
By: Robin Duke
Published: Friday, July 26, 2013 - 10:35am

Ingredients




• 1 ½ cups of 18% cream
• 150 g (6 0z) butter
• 1 cup chicken (or vegetable) stock
• 3 packages of fresh pasta
• 1 lb fresh crimini mushrooms
• 30 g dried porcini mushrooms
• 1/2 small onion
• fresh parsley, grated parmesan cheese
• salt, pepper (in Italian, this would be accompanied by “QB,” meaning “quanto basta” – “to your taste,” “as much as you like,” or “sufficiently”)

Preparation

1 • Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in warm water for 30 minutes. 2 • Clean and dry the crimini mushrooms. Chop mushrooms into large enough pieces that they can be found in the sauce (avoid chopping them too finely). Place into a bowl. 3 • Finely chop a handful of fresh parsley. 4 • Gently squeeze water from the porcini mushrooms, and collect 4-5 oz of the resulting mushroom juice; don't use the grit in the bottom of the bowl! (You could also strain with a cheese cloth.) 5 • Coarsely chop the soaked porcini mushrooms. 6 • Finely chop ½ of a small onion. 7 • Put on a big pot of water to boil – add a tablespoon of salt when the water starts simmering. 8 • Set the table. Make it look pretty. 9 • Melt butter in the pan on medium heat, bringing it to a sizzle. 10 • Add onions, frying them until golden in colour – add the mushrooms, and bring the mixture to a high temperature. Allow this to cook for about 8 minutes, stirring regularly. 11 • Add 3 pinches of parsley, and the mushroom juice (about 1 cup), chicken stock (1 cup – this could be substituted for vegetable stock, if you prefer), and cream (1 ½ cups). 12 • Stir the sauce, and reduce to medium heat. 13 • Add pepper to taste (or QB!) 14 • Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes once the cream has been added; it may look like a lot of sauce in comparison to the amount of pasta you're using, but the pasta will soak up some of the sauce. 15 • Add pasta to boiling water, stir regularly to ensure it doesn't stick (for this quantity of fresh pasta, this takes approximately 5-7 minutes to reach el dente). 16 • Strain the pasta and add to sauce in a serving bowl. Garnish pasta with fresh parsley, and add grated parmesan to taste. 17 For best results, enjoy with loved ones, and follow with espresso & a delicious homemade dessert. Buon appetito!

About

My dad has always believed in the importance of using real ingredients in the kitchen, no matter what the dish; so if you want high quality taste, use high quality ingredients. Using real butter and real cream is essential to this dish!