Funghi Porcini
Porcini carry more flavour than most meats. In autumn, they need very little help.
Porcini grow throughout the forests of northern and central Italy and return to the table every autumn. The pairing with fresh pasta is oldest in Emilia-Romagna, where both the mushrooms and the egg pasta are taken seriously.
Only a few ingredients
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
With the butter, together. Medium heat — the oil stops the butter burning. Wait for the foam to settle.
Butter
With the oil, same pan. Let the foam come and go before the garlic goes in.
Garlic
One clove, whole or halved. It flavours the fat and nothing more. Thirty seconds, then pull it. Brown garlic ruins it.
Porcini
Fresh in autumn, dried the rest of the year — reconstituted in warm water, soaking liquid kept. Don't crowd the pan or they'll steam instead of colour.
Pasta Water
A splash — and the porcini soaking liquid if you're using dried. It loosens the sauce and deepens it at the same time.
Parsley
Flat-leaf, chopped. Off the flame. It wilts in the residual heat and that's all it needs.
Dried porcini work. Tinned do not.
Fresh porcini are seasonal. Dried ones, reconstituted in warm water, are a legitimate substitute — the soaking liquid itself becomes part of the sauce and deepens it. Tinned mushrooms have neither the texture nor the flavour to carry a dish this spare. Do not use them.
Tagliatelle
Fresh egg pasta from the same region. The natural pairing.
Pappardelle
Wider ribbons that carry more sauce per forkful.
Ready to cook?
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