[ ./recipes/pasta/pappardelle-salsiccia-chanterelles.md ]
★ ITALIAN · PASTA
Pappardelle with Salsiccia and Chanterelles.
SERVES
2
TOTAL
35m
ACTIVE
35m
LVL
EASY
// SUMMARY
A Tuscan-Umbrian autumn plate: coarse sausage browned hard, chanterelles seared separately so they colour instead of stew, white wine to lift the fond, and pasta water to pull it all into a sauce. The creaminess comes entirely from sausage fat, butter, Parmigiano and starch — no cream, and no tomato either, which would flatten the mushrooms.
// INGREDIENTS
| 200 | g | pappardelle, or tagliatelle |
| 200 | g | salsiccia, casings removed |
| — 200–250 g chanterelles | ||
| 1 | small shallot, finely chopped | |
| 1 | clove garlic, finely chopped | |
| 50 | ml | dry white wine |
| 2 | tbsp | olive oil |
| 20 | g | butter |
| — 40–50 g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated | ||
| 1 | small sprig rosemary, leaves chopped | |
| — 2–3 sprigs thyme | ||
| 100 | ml | reserved pasta cooking water |
| — Fine sea salt | ||
| — Freshly ground black pepper | ||
// METHOD
- 01
Clean the chanterelles with a brush or a damp cloth — do not soak them, they take on water immediately. Halve the larger ones.
- 02
Get a large pan properly hot. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and sear the chanterelles hard, in a single layer, until they take real colour. Salt only at the end, or they release their water and stew. Tip them out and set aside.
- 03
In the same pan, heat the remaining olive oil and add the salsiccia, torn into rough chunks rather than crumbled fine. Brown over medium-high heat until the pieces are properly caramelised.
- 04
Lower the heat. Add the shallot, garlic, rosemary and thyme and cook for about 2 minutes until soft and fragrant.
- 05
Deglaze with the white wine, scraping the fond off the base, and let it reduce almost completely. Return the chanterelles to the pan.
- 06
Meanwhile cook the pappardelle in plenty of salted water and pull it out about 2 minutes before al dente.
- 07
Transfer the pasta to the pan with 80–100 ml of pasta water and toss vigorously. The starch and the sausage fat will come together into a sauce that clings.
- 08
Turn off the heat and work in the butter and Parmigiano. Loosen with more pasta water if needed, and season with plenty of black pepper.
// NOTES
- — The two hard sears are the dish. Cook the mushrooms and the sausage together in one pan and you get a grey, steamed version of the same ingredients.
- — Buy coarse Italian salsiccia if you can — fennel-seasoned works especially well here. Failing that, a good coarse bratwurst is closer than a fine-ground sausage.
- — Tearing the sausage by hand gives you varied, craggy pieces that brown better than anything a spoon breaks up.
- — Girolles, chanterelles and trompettes all work. Out of season, seared chestnut mushrooms are a reasonable stand-in.
- — Salt the pasta water normally here, unlike a vongole — the sausage is salty but the sauce needs it.
// VARIATIONS
- → With cavolo nero: Wilt a handful of shredded cavolo nero into the pan after the wine reduces.
- → Richer: Add a splash of chicken stock with the wine and reduce it down for a glossier, deeper sauce.
- → Pecorino instead of Parmigiano: Sharper and saltier, and a good match for a fennel-heavy sausage.