Mushroom farfalle
May 08, 2021
Anecdote
Pesto was going to be on the menu today but I took one look at the drizzly weather forecast and decided it would be better to embrace the autumnal mood and switch it out for mushrooms instead.
For the longest time I hated creamy mushroom pasta as I was mildly scarred by school dinners that resembled sick but this dish converted me. Whether you are a mushroom sceptic or lover, you should give it a go.
Ingredients
Dough:
150g 00 flour
50g fine semolina flour
2 eggs
Small pinch of salt
Alternatively, use 200g of 00 flour or just use dried pasta of your choice - whatever suits your fancy.
Mushroom sauce:
One 200g speciality mushroom mix (I got the pack from Sainsbury’s which contains oyster, shiitake, king oyster and maitake) - roughly slice any chunky mushrooms, the little guys can be left alone
16g rehydrated dried porcini, roughly chopped
Half a shallot, finely diced
100ml dry white wine
25g unsalted butter
75ml double cream
Leaves from one sprig of thyme
Two small (or one chunky) cloves of grated garlic
25g grated parmesan (and more for serving of course)
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt and cracked black pepper to taste (remember there’s salt in the pasta water which you'll incorporate into the sauce)
(Zest from half a lemon stirred in at the end if you want to brighten it up)
Recipe
Dough:
Mix the flours and salt in a large mixing bowl
Make a well in the flour and crack in the eggs
Slowly mix the eggs with a fork, gradually bringing flour in from the sides
When the majority of the flour has been incorporated, start bringing the rest of the flour into the egg mixture with your hands until a shaggy dough forms
Turn out onto your work surface and start kneading for 10-15 minutes until very smooth
Wrap in clingfilm or set aside in a bowl covered with a tea towel or beeswax wrap and rest for at least 30 minutes, up to an hour
Making the farfalle:
Divide the dough in half and cover the half you're not using so it doesn't dry out
Roll the half you're working with out into a rough rectangle
Run it through the pasta machine, starting from the thickest setting to work towards the penultimate setting so that you have a long rectangular sheet
Use a pasta cutter to cut strips that are around 4cm wide and then a knife to portion those strips into small rectangles
Working with one rectangle at a time, put a small skewer across the center and pinch the sides in up and over the skewer and then slide the skewer out. Watch Joe Sasto's video, it'll explain it better than I can. I've also included a few process photos at the end of this post
The mushroom sauce:
Prep
Rehydrate your dried porcini mushrooms ahead of time and roughly chop
Grate your garlic, pinch off the thyme leaves, measure your butter and cream, dice your shallots, slice any large mushrooms
Cooking
Drizzle in about a tablespoon of olive oil into the pan. Once hot, fry the mushrooms with the thyme leaves and add a small pinch of sea salt. You want the mushrooms nice and brown so have a little patience as mushrooms have a lot of moisture. Once golden, remove them from the pan and set aside
Add the butter to the pan and when melted add the shallots and garlic in. Give it a good stir, ensuring it doesn't burn. Fry for around 2 minutes until the shallots have softened
Add the mushrooms back into the pan and then add the wine, letting the alcohol cook off for around 3 minutes
Add the double cream in along with the parmesan and stir well. Crack some black pepper
Keep your sauce on low heat whilst you cook your pasta
Boil your pasta in salted water (around 2 minutes if fresh, just pull one out to test, it should be al dente. If using dried, cook according to the packet instruction)
When al dente, bring the pasta into the main pan with the sauce, bringing in some of that pasta water. Stir well and taste again, adding more salt and pepper if necessary
When plated, grate more parmesan and crack some more black pepper. Life is too short to skimp
