Early spring in Chianti can be cruel. It’ll tease you with a string of warm, sunny weather, then rain for days on end. There is a silver lining: fresh porcini. Porcini-based dishes can be found on trattoria menus throughout the year. But the mushrooms have either been frozen (something that by law must be noted on menus) or imported from other parts of Europe. Spring rains bring fresh, locally foraged porcini to restaurant tables—in salads, in omelets, and, of course, in this iconic Tuscan pasta classic. Here’s how my friend and mushroom hunter Luciano does it.
Serves 4
Ingredients
Kosher or coarse sea salt
1 garlic clove
60 ml best-quality extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
225 g fresh porcini mushrooms (or substitute cremini or portobello), cut into bite-size pieces
1 small dried chile pepper, crushed (optional)
1 sprig fresh thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
475 g fresh pasta sheets, cut into long noodles using a pasta machine attachment or by hand
Method
1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat; salt the water generously.
2. Place the flat side of a kitchen knife on top of the garlic clove and come down on it with your hand, using enough force to flatten the clove and loosen the skin. Remove the skin from the garlic clove and place it in a large sauté or frying pan with the olive oil. Over medium-low heat, bring the olive oil and garlic to a slow, steady sizzle. You don’t want to burn the garlic, just achieve a nice yellow color.
3. Add the mushrooms, crushed chile pepper (if using), and thyme to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and stir with a wooden spoon to incorporate everything together. Cook the mushrooms over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Initially, the mushrooms will soak up the oil, brown, and release the liquid within them. After a bit more time, they will begin to release the oil they previously soaked up. At that point, taste for seasoning and, if needed, add more salt or pepper.
4. Put the pasta into the boiling salted water and cook until al dente for dried pasta or until “punto giusto” for fresh pasta.
5. As the pasta is cooking, place the mushroom mixture over medium heat and add a large spoonful of the pasta cooking water to the pan. Mix with your wooden spoon and let the mixture cook down into a saucy consistency. If it becomes too dry, add another spoonful of the cooking water. The goal here is to emulsify the mushroom mixture with the pasta water to create a sauce that’s not too watery and not too dry.
6. When the pasta is cooked to the correct point, use a pair of kitchen tongs to drain and remove it from the pot, and toss it directly into the pan with the mushroom mixture.
7. You are now at a critical point in pasta cooking. It’s time to “marry” your sauce with the pasta. Over medium-low heat, stir the pasta into the mushroom mixture thoroughly, coating all of the noodles with the sauce. If the combination of pasta and mushrooms seems too dry, which is likely at this point as the pasta absorbs some of the sauce you created, add some more pasta cooking water until you achieve a balanced emulsification.
8. Remove the pan from the heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan and mix one last time to incorporate. Portion the pasta into warmed bowls and serve immediately. A mushroom fanatic like Luciano would frown at the thought of adding cheese to this dish (he’d claim it masks the beautiful flavor of the porcini), but you should follow your heart.
Excerpt from 20 Amici, 40 Ricette: Friends and Food from the Heart of Chianti by John Bersani. Copyright © 2025. Reprinted by permission of The Collective Studio. All rights reserved. Photography © Nico Schinco.
Get your copy: https://amzn.to/4ifFvua
The post Luciano’s tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms appeared first on The Florentine.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
