Denise says:
Wild mushrooms and pasta are synonymous with Italian cooking, so featuring this recipe in my Italian cookery classes was a must! Very often in Italian cooking, fewer ingredients provide more flavour and this is certainly the case here, where the porcini (which should be available in most good supermarkets) and a little bit of truffle oil, provide a delicious enhancement to the final recipe. Having discovered a jar of truffles, I could not resist my impulse purchase and decided to include them in the recipe too. Dried mushrooms have a long shelf life, so don’t worry about buying a large quantity as they do not lose their flavour provided they are kept away from sun light and stored in a dry place within an air tight container.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4 people
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil75g dried porcini
½ truffle – finely sliced – if available – specialist Italian shops stock them
2 garlic cloves – peeled and crushed
Large bunch of parsley – roughly chopped
300g spaghetti
Large bunch of fresh basil – torn
Salt and freshly ground black pepper –to taste
To Garnish:
Freshly grated parmesan
Truffle oil (if available) – to drizzle or use extra virgin olive oil
Method
1) Reconstitute the dried porcini by covering with a minimum of cold water for 10 minutes. (You use cold water and as little as possible so as not to extract too much flavour from the mushrooms. Pick them out with a spoon rather than drain them through a sieve as this leaves the grit at the bottom of the bowl.)2) Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the drained porcini and sliced truffles and cook for 5 minutes.
3) Remove from the heat and add the garlic, parsley and gently cook for a few more minutes.
4) Cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions or until al dente.
5) Drain thoroughly then pile into warmed serving bowls.
6) Pour the sauce over the spaghetti, mix well then add the finely torn fresh basil.
To serve the stylish way: Complete with a generously helping of grated Parmesan and some truffle or extra virgin olive oil.