Porcini Pappardelle

| By: Lauren White |

The earthy, natural, vibrant taste of Porcini Pappardelle will transport your taste buds to Tuscany Italy! The classic, simple dish embodies traditional ingredients, including olive oil and white wine, commonly found throughout Tuscany for generations. The Porcini mushrooms add a burst of flavor and texture to an already perfect noodle dish.

Ingredients

Yield: 4 servings as an entree (12 servings as an appetizer)

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour

• Pinch of salt

• 8 eggs

• 1-3 tbsp of olive oil (you can choose to add more to the finished product)

• 2 cups of Porcini mushrooms or any wild, fresh mushrooms

• 2tbsp of butter

• 1 shallot

• ⅓ cup of dry white wine

• Parsley chopped

Cooking Instructions

For the Pasta:

1. Measure 2 cups of flour into a mixing bowl

2. Add a pinch of salt to your mixing bowl

3. Grab a new bowl for wet ingredients

4. Crack 2 eggs and 6 egg yolks into your bowl designated for wet ingredients

5. To simplify this process, crack 6 eggs into a bowl and take the egg yolks out carefully by hand, adding them in with your 2 full eggs

6. Measure and pour 1 tbsp of olive oil in with your wet ingredients

7. Mix wet ingredients

8. Dump flour onto a flat surface and create a circle with less flour in the middle and more flour piled on the outside of the circle

9. Pour your wet ingredients into the center of the flour

10. Whisk the egg mixture in the middle of the flour, slowly incorporating the flour as to not create clumps of flour later in your dough (this process should take 6-8 minutes)

11. When the mixture becomes the consistency of a solid, bulky dough rather than a liquid, knead the dough by folding and pressing onto a flat surface (set a timer and knead for 10 minutes)

12. Place the dough into plastic wrap or aluminum foil and let sit at room temperature for 30 mins - 1 hour (this makes the dough easier to roll out)

13. Unwrap and cut the dough into 6 pieces

14. Take the dough, one piece at a time, and roll out thinly (more tips on this in the notes)

15. Cut the excess dough at the ends to create a straight edge

16. Fold the long ends in to meet in the middle, then fold the long ends in again

17. Cut into pieces (about 1.5 centimeters long)

18. Unfold, separate, and put pasta to the side

19. Repeat with the rest of the dough

20. Bring water to a boil

21. Boil noodles for 2-3 minutes, mix often

For the Sauce:

1. Pour 3 tbsp of olive oil and 2 tbsp of butter into a large pan

2. Pour mushrooms into the pan until golden brown

3. Cut up shallot into fine pieces

4. Add shallots to the pan to taste

5. Add salt and pepper

6. Once the mushrooms are cooked, add dry white wine

7. Add pasta (and a splash of pasta water) into the large pan for about 3 mins on low and mix

8. Serve your Porcini Pappardelle with parsley, grated lemon, and grated parmesan cheese to taste

Notes

• A tip for knowing if the dough is ready after kneading: After 10 minutes kneading your pasta dough, you can check to see if it is ready (and that there are no air bubbles) by cutting it down the middle with a sharp knife and examining for air bubbles. You can also press your dough and examine if it bounces/rises back up.

• A tip for rolling out the dough: While rolling out your dough, take it piece by piece. Roll the dough so that it is stretched into a long, oval like shape. Then fold both longer ends into the middle and roll again. Your dough should be thin, to the point that you can see your hand through the pasta.

• During the process of kneading and rolling your pasta dough, flour is very helpful if the dough becomes sticky.

• Adding salt to boiling water helps the noodles not stick together.