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tagliatelle with porcini and sage

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This is a classic combination of earthy flavors. We very much prefer green tagliatelle or fettuccine with this combination. This pasta dish epitomizes the basic pasta concept: the dish is about the pasta and not the sauce. The sauce will be just the right amount to just gently coat the wonderful, chewy strands of the spinach tagliatelle, in perfect harmony.

(for a slightly different approach see tagliatelle with wild mushrooms)

for the sauce:

five tablespoons butter
two tablespoons olive oil
three cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
one and one half ounces dried porcini
three tablespoons chopped fresh sage
one quarter cup heavy cream
salt and freshly ground pepper
one quarter cup freshly grated parmesan

for the pasta:

one pound freshly made tagliatelle, preferably green. (see how to make fresh egg pasta).

Soak the dried porcini in a cup of warm water for at least twenty minutes, until soft. Save the mushroom liquid. Then drain the porcini, rinse them under cold water, dry them on paper towels, and roughly chop them. Strain the liquid through a very tight sieve or cloth.

In a sauté pan over medium heat put in four tablespoons of butter and oil. Add the garlic and cook for fifteen seconds. Add the sage, and then add the porcini. Sauté for four to five minutes, or until the porcini are soft. Add a quarter cup of the porcini liquid, and simmer for three minutes. Add a teaspoon of salt and pepper. Stir. Add the cream. Cook over medium heat until the cream reduces by about half. Taste for salt and pepper, adjust, and set aside.

Get five quarts of water up to a boil. Add two tablespoons of salt. Add the pasta. Cook until al dente. Then drain..

Re-heat the sauce if necessary; add the tagliatelle to the sauce. Add the parmesan and the extra tablespoon of butter. Stir thoroughly. If the pasta needs extra moisture, add more of the porcini liquid.

Now what we find the key to "finishing" fresh egg pasta dishes. Cover the pan. Turn the heat up and heat for about sixty seconds. The pasta now will be ready to serve: steaming. Add extra sage leaves as a garnish. Provide extra parmesan.