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Creamy Wild Mushroom “Ragù” with Homemade Pappardelle
Make your own pappardelle (broad, flat pasta) and enjoy with a beautiful vegetarian version of ragù.
- Difficulty: easy
- Prep Time : 30 mins |
- Cook Time : 30 mins
issue 40
Ingredients
Pappardelle
400 g coarse or stone-ground white flour
4 large eggs
1 large egg, beaten (if necessary)
Mushroom Ragù
2 Tbsp (30 ml) butter
700 g fresh mixed exotic mushrooms, roughly chopped or quartered
Parmesan-infused olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 fat clove garlic, crushed
1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 Tbsp (15 ml) sherry
1 Tbsp (15 ml) white wine vinegar
25 g dried exotic mushrooms, soaked in ¼ C (60 ml) hot water
¼ C (60 ml) chicken stock
1 tsp (5 ml) dried tarragon
½ tsp (2.5 ml) dried thyme
1 bay leaf
½ C (125 ml) Crème fraîche
chopped Italian parsley for garnishing
Method
To make the pappardelle, place the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and break the four eggs into the well. Slowly mix some flour into the egg well and continue doing so until the eggs have combined with the flour. The mixture should start coming together to form a dough. If it is too dry, add the extra beaten egg.
Divide the dough in half (this makes it easier for kneading) and knead each dough mixture on a floured surface for about 5 minutes until it becomes smooth, elastic and not sticky at all. Cover each one with plastic wrap and rest for 15 minutes.
After resting, roll out the dough (one by one) with a rolling pin on a well-floured surface until you get a very thin rectangular shape. Roll the shortest end upwards into a sausage shape and slice into 20-cm pieces. Unroll the pieces to create pappardelle and hang over a floured rack while preparing the rest of the pasta.
Place the pappardelle in a large saucepan of well-salted boiling water and boil for about 3 minutes or until the pasta rises to the surface and is al dente. Remove from the water and toss with a little Parmesan-infused oil.
To make the mushroom ragù, heat the butter and oil in a large heavy-based saucepan and brown the fresh mushrooms in three batches to prevent overcrowding the pan.Season well with salt (this helps extract excess moisture). Remove from the saucepan and set aside.
Add the onion, garlic, carrot and celery to the saucepan and sauté until softened and fragrant. Add the sherry and vinegar and fry for 2 minutes.
Return the browned mushrooms to the saucepan. Strain the soaked mushrooms (reserving ¼ C (60 ml) of liquid) and squeeze the excess liquid out. Add to the saucepan together with the herbs and sauté for a minute.
Add the reserved ¼ C (60 ml) liquid and the chicken stock and simmer gently uncovered for about 15 minutes. Now add the crème fraîche and simmer for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the mushroom ragù on a generous bed of pappardelle. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and drizzle with Parmesan-infused oil.
