Funghi Carbonara

From Paul Gayler’s Little Book of Pasta & Noodles, Paul Gayler, Kyle Cathie Ltd, 2009.

Recently I read that one of the super foods to help prevent colds is mushrooms. What better reason to make a funghi carbonara.

To begin I took some dried porcinis and added boiling water to just cover them and let them soak while I cut up the rest of my mushrooms, some Swiss browns. I also sliced a shallot finely.

I now put a large saucepan with salted water on to bring to the boil and  melted some butter in a large frying pan. I added the chopped mushrooms and shallot to the pan and bucatini to the boiling water. I sautéed the vegetables for about 3 minutes and then added the porcini pieces together with their water and a sprinkling of salt, black pepper and a little grated nutmeg. After about another minute I poured in some cream and brought it to the boil, then let it simmer for a few minutes more.

By now the bucatini was cooked so it was drained and added to the mushrooms. When all was well mixed I added a beaten egg and a goodly amount of grated Parmesan cheese. Using tongs I mixed the ingredients well and placed them on serving plates.

While not a true carbonara you can’t really beat a mixture of mushrooms and cream in pasta.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔