Pappardelle with mushrooms is a classic way to enjoy the rich earthy flavor of wild mushrooms. These meaty mushrooms perfume a light tomato sauce that coats the traditional wide pasta served in Tuscany. Porcini mushrooms (Boletus edulis) are ideal for this recipe, and the first choice for making this dish. But because they are difficult to find, we prepared our Tuscan-inspired sauce using a combination of portobello, baby bella, and other mushrooms. To enrich their flavor, we added a small amount of dried porcini mushrooms, which can be found online and in most specialty stores.
Wide pappardelle noodles are easy and rewarding to make at home, but quality imported versions are available too. I sources fresh pasta sheets from 8 Mile Meadow in Deep River, CT when I made this dish for the photograph. Make the sauce a day ahead to serve with friends and family at a festive gathering.
Kitchen Notebook
For several years, I have developed recipes and edited copy for a wonderful program called Tuscan Women Cook. Operated out of Montefollonico, Italy, the program places you in the kitchen with nonne and fine local cooks who pass down recipes and techniques through the generations. I developed this recipe for their newsletter earlier this year. Take a look.
Ingredients
½ ounce dried porcini or mixed mushroom blend
1½ pounds of a combination of portobello, baby bella, cremini, and shitake mushrooms
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large shallots, minced
salt and fresh ground black pepper
10 to 12 ounces fresh tomato sauce
12 ounces water, more as needed
12 to 16 ounces fresh pappardelle
3 tablespoons butter
few sprigs of flat leaf parsley, chopped
sprig fresh thyme, chopped
Directions
- Soak the dried mushrooms in 1 cup boiling water for an hour.
- Drain the dried mushrooms reserving the soaking liquid. Slice the fresh mushrooms ¼- inch thick then chop them into small, irregular pieces. Slice smaller mushrooms without chopping if desired. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch wide, deep skillet. Cook the shallots in the oil, over medium stirring frequently, until they soften and brown slightly.
- Add all of the mushrooms. Cook, stirring often, until they start to soften and their moisture starts to be released, for about five minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and continue cooking until they are cooked through.
- Add the tomato sauce, water and the reserved soaking liquid. Bring to a simmer. Partially cover and simmer very gently for 30 to 40 minutes. (You can prepare the sauce up to this point and refrigerate for the next day.)
- Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Stir in the butter. Keep warm.
- Cook the pappardelle in salted boiling water. Drain the pappardelle and add it to the pan with the mushroom sauce. Toss to coat the pappardelle with the sauce. Add more water if needed to coat the pasta.
- Divide evenly into warmed serving bowls. Garnish with the chopped parsley and thyme.
