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paglia e fieno (3) a la Alfredo Viazzi

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Here is a richer "straw and hay" combination, with sausage and mushrooms.. (see paglia e fieno with prosciutto, peas, cream for the basic recipe).

>>This recipe is also ideal with fettuccine alone.

a la Alfredo Viazzi

Alfredo Viazzi was the proprietor of a very popular restaurant in Greenwich Village, Trattoria da Alfredo, and is also the author of the cookbook: Alfredo Viazzi's Italian Cooking, published by Random House.

for the sauce:

six tablespoons butter
four cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped fine
three-quarters pound of sweet Italian sausage, removed from the casing and crumbled
two tablespoons of finely chopped fresh basil
one teaspoon of chopped tarragon
one teaspoon of chopped thyme thyme
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
one-half pound fresh mushrooms
one cup heavy cream
one-quarter cup freshly grated parmesan

for the pasta:

one-half pound freshly made green (spinach) fettuccine and one-half pound freshly made yellow fettuccine

Wipe the mushrooms clean. Cut off stems. Slice the mushrooms fairly thin, and set aside.

Melt three tablespoons of butter in a separate skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook briefly, until it starts to sizzle. Add the sausage meat and cook for about six minutes, until it is cooked through, but not too brown. While cooking the sausage, add the herbs and the nutmeg, stirring frequently.

Add the mushrooms to the mixture. Plus a teaspoon of salt. Continue cooking until the mushrooms are soft, about eight more minutes. Taste for salt and set aside.

Cook the yellow and green pasta together, in four to five quarts of boiling, salted water until it is almost al dente (the yellow pasta might take slightly longer than the green, so best to put the yellow pasta in the boiling water first; the green thirty seconds later). Stir them well together! When almost al dente, remove from the heat and drain well.

In a large sauté pan, melt three tablespoons of butter, add the cream, cook for one minute. Add the pasta and toss. Then add the sauce mixture, continuing to toss as you add. Cook for about two more minutes as the sauce thickens. Add the parmesan and the freshly ground pepper. Serve immediately.