Pappardelle with a Woodsy Wild Mushroom Ragù
Not all ragùs are made with meat. This one is vegetarian, calling for meaty porcini mushrooms or cèpes (Boletus edulis), available in early autumn in weekly markets all over Italy and France—and all over woodlands too for those lucky enough to find them. In Tuscany we delight in postdawn hikes, tramping through steep oak and chestnut forests, searching for porcini and dodging wild boars and hedgehogs. There are other mushrooms too, but darkly tawny porcini are the prize, so much so that when our neighbors talk about funghi, we know it’s specifically porcini to which they refer. When there are too many of these treasured mushrooms to consume at one go, the rest are cleaned, sliced thickly, and dried outdoors for days in the clean mountain air and sunshine, in order to have a supply of funghi secchi, dried mushrooms, for winter. Though she kept her hiding places secret, our neighbor Mita Antolini was a true champion of funghi foraging, and she always had dried funghi stored in an old pillow case in her dispensa, ready to reconstitute and add to wintertime ragùs and sauces.
Porcini are found in North America too, in New England, Colorado, and the Pacific Northwest. You will often find them in farmers’ markets in those regions. If you don’t have porcini (or can’t find any in the woods nearby), chanterelles, black trumpets, indeed any edible mushrooms you find on your foraging expeditions can be used in this ragù—but be sure of what you find. Some mushrooms can be toxic and a few are fatal. A local mycological society or your county Cooperative Extension Service should be able to educate you on mushroom safety.
If no wild mushrooms at all are available, use the cultivated mushrooms available in supermarket produce sections. You should easily find shiitake, but even button mushrooms and cremini will be okay in this. Just add a few reconstituted dried porcini (see here) to boost the flavor of the sauce.
Wide, flat pappardelle are good with this, although in a pinch tagliatelle or similar long, flat noodles would be just fine. If you don’t have crème fraîche, you could use Greek-style thickened yogurt. Just don’t let the mushroom juices come to a full boil once the yogurt has been added, as it may curdle.
SERVES 4 TO 6
1 pound fresh wild or cultivated mushrooms, preferably porcini
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, preferably dark green (from the outside), chopped
½ cup finely minced flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, lightly smashed with the flat blade of a knife
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ tablespoon minced thyme (or other herbs such as marjoram, chives, or lovage, herbs that will make a spicy counterpoint to the musky, meaty flavor of the mushrooms)
½ cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons crème fraîche
1 pound (500 grams) pappardelle or similar wide, flat, ribbon noodles
½ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano or grana padano
Clean and trim the mushrooms (see Mushrooms, Dried and Fresh, here). If using porcini, separate the stems from the caps and cut into fine dice. Slice the caps about ¼ inch thick. If using shiitake, discard the tough woody stems and slice the caps. Chop the onion, celery, and parsley to a fine mince, by hand or in a food processor.
Start heating 6 quarts of water in a large pot over high heat.
Set a large skillet over gentle heat and add 1 tablespoon of the butter and 2 tablespoons of the oil. When the butter has melted in the oil, add the garlic and toast it gently and slowly until soft and golden. Remove the garlic and reserve.
Turn up the heat a little and add the diced mushroom stems. Cook briskly until they start to brown, then add the onion, celery, parsley, and a pinch of salt and let the vegetables simmer in the oil a minute or two, just enough to start softening. Now add the sliced mushroom caps and sauté over medium heat until the slices soften and give up some of their liquid.
Add the thyme and wine and let the whole cook down until the mushrooms are very tender, almost falling apart, and the liquid has reduced by half. Just before taking the mushrooms off the heat, stir in the crème fraîche.
Have ready a warm serving bowl.
Add a big spoonful of salt to the rapidly boiling water and toss in the pasta. Cook, following the directions here.
When the pasta is al dente, drain and turn it into the warm bowl. Immediately add the mushrooms, along with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter, tossing to mix well. Add a generous amount of pepper and stir in the parmigiano in handfuls, tossing after each addition. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately.