Penne Alla Boscaiola Recipes

PENNE ALLA BOSCAIOLA

Steps:

• Place the dried porcini mushrooms in warm water and soak for about 20 minutes. Scoop the softened mushrooms out of the water and chop them coarsely. Set aside. Put a large skillet over a medium flame and heat the oil. Add the onion, portobello mushrooms, porcini and pancetta to the pan. Cook until they onion is soft and the pancetta is crisp, about 5-8 minutes. Add in the passata and a pinch of salt. Cook for 5 minutes and add in the cream. Bring to a boil and add in the cheese and parsley. Drop the pasta into salted boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain and add the pasta to the sauce. Cook over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately in warm bowls.

PASTA ALLA BOSCAIOLA

Steps:

• Place a large pot of water on to boil for pasta.
• Place dry mushrooms in stock in a saucepan and bring to low boil to reconstitute. Reduce stock by half, then set aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon EVOO in a large pan over medium-high heat, add pancetta, guanciale or sausage and render. When pancetta starts to brown, add the fresh mushrooms.
• Strip and finely chop rosemary. Strip and stack sage leaves and very thinly slice. Add shallots, garlic, salt, pepper and herbs to fresh mushrooms, add 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil and stir 2 to 3 minutes. Add white wine and reduce by half. Add tomatoes and passata. Remove porcini mushrooms with slotted spoon from stock and add all but the last few tablespoons of stock (where grit may have settled) to the sauce. Reduce the heat under sauce to low simmer. Chop porcini mushrooms and add them to the sauce. Add heavy cream if using and stir.
• Add pasta and salt to boiling water and cook pasta 1 minute less than package direction. Reserve 3/4 cup pasta water and drain pasta.
• Return pasta to hot pot, add some pasta water, the cheese, a little EVOO or butter and half of the sauce and toss vigorously 1 full minute to combine. Use more of the hot reserved water as necessary to loosen sauce if it becomes too thick. Serve family style or in shallow bowls topped with remaining sauce. Garnish with parsley.

PENNE BOSCAIOLA (WOODSMAN-STYLE PASTA WITH MUSHROOMS AND BACON) RECIPE

Steps:

• Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven or large sauté pan, cook bacon over medium-high heat, stirring often, until browned, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a plate.
• Add fresh mushrooms and chopped porcini to pot with rendered bacon fat and return to medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often, until mushrooms are browned, about 8 minutes. Add a splash of olive oil at any point if pot becomes too dry.
• Add onion, garlic, and thyme and cook, stirring, until onion and garlic are softened and lightly golden, about 6 minutes; again, add olive oil as needed if pot becomes too dry. Season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until just shy of al dente. Drain pasta, reserving about 2 cups of pasta-cooking water.