Here we have a recipe from my favorite cookbook of 2022 „Mezcla“ by Ixta Belfrage. She is the daughter of the just died wine-journalist Niclolas Belfrage/British Master of Wine and specialist for italian wines.
Ingredients
- 40g dried porcini (cep)
- 4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve
- 3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
- ½ tsp chilli flakes (optional)
- 10-20g fresh parsley, chopped
- ⅓ tsp fine salt
- 1½ tbsp tomato paste
- about 50 twists of freshly ground black pepper (or less)
- 300g dried tagliatelle nests (me: cep tagliatelle)
- 40g parmesan, very finely grated, plus extra to serve
- 3 tbsp double cream
- 200g porcini soaking liquid
- 200-250g pasta cooking water
Preparation
- In a medium bowl, cover the porcini with hot water and leave to soak for 30-60 minutes. Drain, reserving 200g of the soaking liquid.
- Very finely chop the porcini to mince consistency. Also chopp parsley and garlic
- Put the oil, garlic, chilli flakes, parsley and fine salt into a cold, large saute pan on a medium-low heat. Very gently fry for 5 minutes until soft and lightly golden, turning the heat down if the garlic starts to brown.
- Increase the heat to medium-high, then add the chopped porcini, tomato paste and plenty of pepper.
- Stir-fry for 3 minutes. Then set the pan aside while you boil the pasta (optional). You could make these 5 steps around 1-2h before, if you like.
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Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, reserving around 200g of the pasta water.
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Return the saute pan with the porcini to a medium-high heat, then add the 200g of pasta water and the reserved 200g of porcini soaking liquid. Stir and bring to a simmer.
- Once simmering, leave to bubble away for 3 minutes. Add half the parmesan to the pan, stirring until it has melted before adding the rest.
- Lower the heat to medium, then stir in the cream, followed by the drained tagliatelle.
- Combine everything for 2min
- Serve with extra parmesan on top.
