Meet Mr Mushroom

Today I found fresh mushrooms at the market and got an idea to marry them with PPURA, the gluten free pasta I bought at the grocery shop Bien, here in Paris. PPURA is made with corn and eggs. In the region of Piemonte, in the north of Italy, this kind of pasta is called “Tajarin” and it is supposed to be delicious. I bet the eggs will marry happily ever after with the Mr mushroom!

Let’s clean the mushrooms first: I have been taught not to put them under the water as it washes away part of the aroma & flavor. So it might take some time to do it but I clean them delicately with the help of a small brush + a kitchen cloth and I cut off the lower part.

Cut them in thin slices.

Take a large pan, add 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, put the garlic and let it fry gently over low heat.

When the garlic turns blond, turn up the heat, add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt.

The mushrooms cook quite quickly – mine took just five minutes to turn golden brown. Once they are ready, remove them from the heat.

In parallel let’s cook the pasta: when the water starts to boil, add the pasta, then a pinch of salt.

PPURA pasta took about 10 minutes to be “al dente” but as I always advise, more than trusting the packaging information, start tasting it after the first 4/5 minutes. Most of the gluten free pasta turn very easily from stone hard  to marshmallow soft.

Save one coffee cup of the water where you are cooking the pasta.

Once the pasta is ready, drain all the water, put it the pan with the mushrooms and back over medium/high heat.

Add the grated parmesan, and some of the water that you just saved: it will help melting the cheese and form that delicious cream that sticks all around the mushrooms and the pasta.

Turn off the heat, add one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil per dish, fresh pepper, thyme and rosemary.

Buon appetito!

If you have any questions on this recipe, pls don’t hesitate to ask me. I will be more than happy to come back to you.