Homemade pappardelle con porcini

Pappardelle is a larger version of tagliatelle which whilst readily available in stores, is quite good fun to make at home, particularly with this simple rustic dish! For added flavour you might consider adding a few dried porcini to the recipe.

Ingredients

Fresh pasta

    400 g soft wheat 00 flour, plus extra for dusting

    3 medium eggs plus 1 egg yolk and a little cold water

    a pinch of salt

Cep sauce

500 g fresh ceps - cleaned (but not washed)

1 large onion

100g butter

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

25g dried porcini reconstituted and chopped

1 tablespoon very finely chopped fresh parsley

sea salt and ground black pepper

60 g freshly grated parmesan cheese

Start with making the pasta, get the kids involved, they love it! Use a cool surface, marble is ideal, and make a well in the centre of the flour. Break the eggs, add the extra egg yolk and a little water in a bowl. Incorporate the eggs gradually into the flour, using a fork initially until the dough starts to come together. Now using your hands (dusted with a little flour) work well until you have a smooth dough. Don't be scared to work the dough well! Leave to rest for an hour covered in cling film, before using.

Whilst the dough is resting, cover the dried porcini with hot water and allow to soak for 30 minutes. Drain and reserve the water, although sieve to remove any grit before using.

Place the dough on the cool, floured surface and with a rolling pin roll out to a thickness of under 2 mm. Roll from the centre and rotate the dough to get an even thickness. Roll the pasta into a tube, using a lot of flour and cut into ribbons 2.5cm wide. Unroll the ribbons onto a clean cloth and the pasta is ready to be cooked.

Alternatively, and far less hard work, use a pasta machine which will roll the pasta and cut it.

To start the sauce, finely slice the ceps and set aside. Finely chop the onion and fry gently in butter until soft but not coloured. Now add the finely chopped garlic, continue cooking and add the drained and chopped porcini, cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Add the fresh ceps and cook further for 7-8 minutes. Season well with the sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and the chopped parsley. It may be necessary to add a little of the porcini water to add a little moisture to the sauce.

In a large pasta pan, boil plenty of salted water and add the fresh pasta until al dente. The fresh pasta should take 4 - 5 minutes to cook, dried pasta as per packet instructions. 

Drain the pasta, add into the sauce and mix well. Sprinkle with a good amount of freshly grated parmesan and serve immediately.

A great supper dish, enjoy the flavours of what is arguably the ultimate wild mushroom with beautiful home-made pasta!

Comments

[Mathilde's Cuisine]

What a wonderful dish, it looks delicious and I can even feel the mushrooms melting in my mouth. Well done!

[Paul]

Thanks - ps I really like the photography on your site, something which I need to improve!