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: ✔✔✔✔
