Tagliatelle and wild mushrooms
The other morning as I was making the coffee ,Nick who had been outside letting our goat Hilda into the field, came running in ,grabbed a basket , a knife and hurried back out . Five minutes later he returned with a mountain of wild mushrooms. Fantastico ! Especially as there was little rain this autumn and mushrooms were few and far between. Over the last couple of weeks though , the weather has changed dramatically and every morning is wet and misty.
Now ,getting back to our basket full of wild funghi .The only problem was how to determine if they were edible or not ! The high risk past time of mushroom foraging has never been one of our pastimes . I say high risk , because apparently the main recipient of a Viper bite is the humble mushroom picker. Little do people know about the dangers involved in mushroom gathering. Not only is there the risk of Vipers ,but combine that with the very real chance that your choice of mushroom is highly poisonous , makes wild Boar hunting seem like child’s play. Death stalks these friendly folk with every step!
Ok , I’m exaggerating . But , picking the right kind is obviously very important. Luckily for us there is a type of edible mushroom that used to grow by a tree in our garden. The tree is no longer there ,but the mushrooms have reappeared. So , were these the same type ?
There was only two ways to find out . One of us should volunteer to try one , but we were both slow at putting a hand up or… take the basket and drive down to where our friend and avid mushroom hunter, Ansano was working.
Off I went ….. Ansano was thrilled. “ yes ,yes these are perfetti with pasta or risotto “ he said. “ Plus , these are the least venomous of all the mushrooms in the area”. Great ,I couldn’t of wished for a better response . That evening we enjoyed a great big plate of Tagliatelle ai Funghi . It was delicious !! And the best part was , we didn’t even have to take any risks !!
Ingredients: Fresh Tagliatelle pasta , fresh mushrooms, garlic, red chili, EVO oil, parsley and salt. Parmesan cheese.
How it works: In a pan heat garlic and chopped seeded chili with EVO oil. Once the garlic is golden add the mushrooms stems cut into small cubes. Add wine and cook for a few minutes . Then add the rest of the diced mushrooms. Combine some finely chopped parsley and a pinch of salt. Cook for 5 minute. In the middle time cook the pasta. Take three or four tablespoons of water from the pasta and add it in to the pan with the mushrooms cooking . Drain the pasta very much al dente and add to the pan with the mushrooms. Cook over high heat, add same parmesan cheese mixing for one minute or until sauce it will look creamy ( carful to not overcook the pasta!). Serve with finely chopped parsley and a spring of parmesan on top
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