Friday Fungus: Tagliatelle con funghi e panchetta

Most of the pasta sauces you get involve mince or some sort plus tomatoes. Now don’t get me wrong I like a nice ragu but you will agree that a change is necessary. So I give you bacon and wild mushroom pasta sauce:

You’ll need:

A load of wild mushrooms (or ordinary ones if you can’t get ‘em wild, we’re not really that fussy)
Cubed pancetta (or bacon lardons which are – whatever the Italians might say – essentially the same thing)
One small red onion (or a couple of those nice red shallots)
Herbs (dried sage is best)
Two glasses of Marsala (one for the sauce and one to drink)
Olive oil
Salt & black pepper

Chop the onion and fry with the pancetta in a heavy bottomed frying pan (with a lid) until the onion is softened and the bacon is just starting to curl. Add the roughly chopped mushrooms (how many times have I told you not to chop them too small), the herbs, salt and pepper. Fry a minute or two and then cover – turn the heat right down and cook for about 5 minutes (while you waiting drink the spare glass of Marsala). Add the other glass of Marsala, turn the heat up and mix thoroughly as the alcohol boils off. Remove from the heat and cover again to keep warm.

You will of course have forgotten to boil some salted water for the pasta, so do this now (and have another glass while you’re waiting or maybe a beer). Cook the pasta – I don’t need to tell you have to do that do I? Mix the sauce into the pasta. If you really, really must add some grated Parmesan or mature pecorino.

Note: On making your own pasta

You’ll need:

Bag of 00 Flour
2 eggs
Olive oil
Salt
A large clean surface (some use marble but I use a large wooden board)
A fork
A sieve

Tip the bag of flour onto the centre of the board and make a dent in the top of the pile (like a volcano).

Break the eggs into the dent and add a little oil, salt & pepper. Swirl the fork round and round in the eggs and flour starting from the middle. Soon you will have gooey lump. Remove this from the pile of flour and set to one side. Sieve the flour back into the bag (adding any stray lumps of goo to the main lump).

Imagine the gooey lump is your worst enemy and treat accordingly (i.e. knead it vigorously). You may want to add a little more flour if it gets too sticky. After about 15-20 mins you should have a smooth dough.

Clean the board & then dust it with flour. Get your long rolling pin and roll out the dough pretty thin (OK if you must you can use that pasta machine at the back of the cupboard). Then roll this gently into a long tube. Slice cross wise at ¼ inch intervals.

Unrolled this is your tagliatelle! Takes about 3 or 4 mins in salted boiling water. Enjoy!