Decadent Gorgonzola & Mushroom Pasta!

TRUST ME. It’s etherial and wow-inducing. Use it to impress your friends! Eat it when you’re sad! No matter what it’s sure to make the world a little bit better place. It may even get you that promotion you’ve been wanting! (well, maybe…)

It comes from an authentic italian cookbook of mine. And I mean authentic, like straight out of Italy for the Italians – it’s even in metric! It’s my bible and pipeline to my inlaws hearts and stomachs. As a courtesy to you Americani the measurements have been translated – don’t worry, no conversion math for you! You’re welcome.

Farfalle Boscaiole (farfalle with mushrooms and cheese)
serves 4

Ingredients
1 cup dried porcini mushrooms
2 tbsp butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 cups fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
a few fresh sage leaves, very finely chopped, plus a few whole leaves for garnish
2/3 cup dry white wine
2 cups dried farfalle (a.k.a. bowtie pasta)
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese*
1 cup Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

(1) Put the dried porcini in a small bowl with 1 cup of warm water and leave to soak for 20-30 minutes. Remove from the liquid and squeeze the porcini over the bowl to extract as much liquid as possible. Strain the liquid to remove any grit and solids, and set it aside. Finely chop the porcini.
(2) Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the onion and the chopped porcini and cook gently, stirring for about 3 minutes until the onion is soft. Add the garlic and fresh mushrooms, chopped sage, salt and plenty of black pepper. Cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until the mushromms are soft and juicy. Stir in the soaking liquid and the wine and simmer.
(3) Cook the farfalle in a large saucepan of rapidly boiling salted water, for about 10 minutes or until al dente.
(4) Meanwhile, stir the mascarpone and gorgonzola into the mushroom sauce. Heat through, stirring, until melted. Taste for seasoning. Drain the pasta thoroughly, add to the sauce and toss to mix.
(5) Serve at once, with black pepper ground liberally on top. Garnish with sage leaves.

I recommend serving this with a super simple, light salad (arugula w/ olive oil and balsamic vinegar? spinach w/ oranges?) and some crusty bread to soak up the sauce. It’s pretty rich so a little goes a long way. Buon appetito!

*Variation: For a lighter sauce, use creme fraiche instead of mascarpone.