Delightfully woodsy and indulgent, porcini pasta is an especially soothing dish when you're in the market for comfort food. While probably not the most visually stunning plate of pasta you will ever enjoy, what it lacks in beauty it more than makes up for in depth of flavor and ease of preparation. Creamy, rich, and intensely earthy, this pasta is really something special. Using readily available dried porcini mushrooms and just a few other simple ingredients, it is also incredibly simple to cook. Always an enticing choice in cold weather, this deceivingly plain looking dish just might make you swoon.
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Ingredients for Porcini Pasta
- unsalted butter
- shallot
- garlic
- dried porcini mushrooms
- chicken broth
- heavy whipping cream
- dried linguine (or other pasta of your choice)
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Parmigiano-Reggiano (or your favorite Parmesan)
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions for Porcini Pasta
Rehydrate the Dried Porcini
Place the dried porcini in a heat safe measuring cup with a capacity of at least 2 cups. Pour enough hot water over the porcini to cover and reach somewhere between the 1½ to 2 cup mark.
Let sit for 30 minutes or until the porcini have plumped up and become soft. (If you are using Better than Bouillon for the chicken stock, prepare your stock in the meantime.)
Set a coffee filter in a medium strainer over a bowl and slowly pour the porcini soaking liquid through the filter. Reserve the strained porcini soaking liquid.
Give the rehydrated porcini a quick swish and rinse in some cool water (to remove any remaining traces of sandiness) and then drain.
Roughly chop the porcini and set them aside.
Prepare the Porcini Sauce
Begin by finely chopping the shallot and mincing the garlic.
Then melt the butter in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped shallot and stir until beginning to brown, about 3 or 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and stir until fragrant, about another 30 seconds more.
Next add the chopped porcini and stir to coat. Then pour in about 1 cup of the reserved porcini soaking liquid and bring to a simmer. Cook until the liquid has evaporated almost entirely, about 5 minutes.
Add the chicken stock and heavy whipping cream. Bring the sauce to a boil and then adjust the heat down to a lively simmer.
Simmer the sauce for about 30 to 40 minutes. In the meantime, cook the pasta al dente, reserving about a cup of pasta cooking water (just in case you end up with leftover pasta).
You will know that the sauce is done when it has been reduced by about half and the consistency has become noticeably creamy and more thick. Then check it for seasoning, adding salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Assemble and Serve
Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and stir to coat. Allow the pasta to warm and soak up the sauce over low heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, before serving.
Serve the porcini pasta with a generous sprinkling of freshly shredded or grated parmesan.
Hint: Straining the porcini soaking liquid through a coffee filter and rinsing the rehydrated mushrooms after soaking them may seem rather persnickety, but trust me, it is worth the extra trouble. Even quality dried mushrooms can often be sandy, and that is not the variety of grit you want in your life.
Variations
- The Pasta - I like linguine here, but fettuccini and tagliatelle are a couple of other great options.
- Herbal Additions - If you're feeling a bit fancy, you might add a tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme to the pan at the beginning while cooking the shallot.
- To Garnish - A scattering of freshly chopped flat leaf parsley would add a lovely bit of color and brightness if you have it on hand and feel like dressing this pasta up.
Equipment
A heavy stainless steel skillet is my favorite vessel for cooking porcini pasta. The one that I used here is enormous, and probably quite a bit larger than necessary. In other words, as long as your skillet can accommodate a whole pound of pasta, you should be fine.
Storage
If you have any leftovers, they can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two to three days. While best served immediately, porcini pasta can certainly be reheated. Simply add a generous glug (or two) of the reserved pasta cooking water to the leftover pasta in the skillet, cover with a lid, and place over medium low heat. As the skillet warms, lift the lid occasionally and gently stir to loosen the pasta and encourage the pasta water to combine and reconstitute the sauce.
📖 Recipe
Porcini Pasta
Equipment
- medium strainer
- large coffee filter
- heavy stainless steel skillet (large enough to accommodate a pound of pasta and a generous amount of sauce)
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup finely chopped shallot (usually 1 to 3 shallots, depending on their size)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1½ cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 pound dried linguine (or other pasta of your choice)
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Parmigiano-Reggiano (or your favorite Parmesan) freshly shredded or grated
Instructions
Rehydrate the Dried Porcini Mushrooms
- Place the dried porcini in a heat safe measuring cup with a capacity of at least 2 cups. Pour enough hot water over the porcini to cover and reach somewhere between the 1½ to 2 cup mark. Let sit for 30 minutes or until the porcini have plumped up and become soft. (If using Better than Bouillon for the chicken stock, prepare your stock in the meantime.)
- Set a coffee filter in a medium strainer over a bowl and slowly pour the porcini soaking liquid through the filter. Reserve the strained porcini soaking liquid.
- Give the rehydrated porcini a quick swish and rinse in some cool water (to remove any remaining traces of sandiness) and then drain.
- Roughly chop the porcini and set them aside.
Prepare the Porcini Sauce
- Finely chop the shallot and mince the garlic.
- Melt the butter in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped shallot and stir until beginning to brown, about 3 or 4 minutes. Then add the minced garlic and stir until fragrant, about another 30 seconds more.
- Add the chopped porcini and stir to coat. Then pour in about 1 cup of the reserved porcini soaking liquid and bring to a simmer. Cook until the liquid has evaporated almost entirely, about 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock and heavy whipping cream. Bring the sauce to a boil and then adjust the heat down to a lively simmer.
- Simmer the sauce for about 30 to 40 minutes or until it has been reduced by about half and the consistency has become noticeably creamy and more thick. In the meantime, cook the pasta al dente, reserving about a cup of pasta cooking water (just in case you end up with leftover pasta).
Assemble and Serve
- When the porcini sauce is done simmering, check it for seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then add the cooked pasta to the sauce and stir to coat. Allow the pasta to warm and soak up the sauce over low heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, before serving.
- Serve the porcini pasta with a generous sprinkling of freshly shredded or grated Parmigiana-Reggiano.
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