The recipe

2 servingsabout 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 180 g dried tagliatelle
  • 300 g chestnut mushrooms, also called brown button mushrooms
  • 1 small shallot
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 10 g butter
  • 100 ml cream, approximately 30% fat
  • 50 ml water, plus pasta water as needed
  • 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • Salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Clean and dry the mushrooms, then slice about five millimetres thick. Dice the shallot and chop the garlic. Put the pasta water on to heat.
  2. Brown half the mushrooms in half the oil in a wide pan for about four to five minutes. Remove and repeat with the other half.
  3. Reduce the heat. Melt the butter, soften the shallot for two minutes and cook the garlic for another thirty seconds.
  4. Return the mushrooms and add the cream and 50 ml water. Simmer gently over low heat for three to five minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Meanwhile, cook the tagliatelle according to the packet until just short of your preferred bite. Reserve a cup of cooking water, then drain.
  6. Finish the tagliatelle briefly in the sauce. Add pasta water a tablespoon at a time if needed. Fold in the parsley, adjust seasoning and serve immediately.

Brown the mushrooms in a wide pan

For two servings, use 300 g commercially sold chestnut mushrooms, also called brown button mushrooms. Remove dirt and dry stalk ends. If you rinse them briefly, dry them thoroughly afterwards. Cut them into slices about five millimetres thick. This recipe is intended for button mushrooms; other species may need different preparation and cooking. A wide frying pan of approximately 28 centimetres helps keep the slices from piling up excessively.

Cook half the mushrooms at a time, using half of the single tablespoon of oil for each batch, over medium-high heat. Give them some contact with the pan before turning. After about four to five minutes per batch, most released liquid should have evaporated and golden patches should be visible. Adjust the heat and time for your pan; blackened edges are not the aim. Remove each batch once browned.

Build the sauce after browning

Reduce the heat and melt ten grams of butter in the same pan. Soften one small finely diced shallot for about two minutes, then add a chopped garlic clove for another thirty seconds. Return the mushrooms. Add 100 ml cream and 50 ml water, then simmer gently over low heat for three to five minutes. The sauce should thicken a little while remaining loose enough to coat the pasta.

During the pan work, cook 180 g dried tagliatelle until just short of your preferred bite. Time the start according to the packet so they are ready with the sauce. Fresh pasta would require a different quantity and cooking time. Fold the tagliatelle gently into the sauce and finish cooking briefly. Loosen the consistency with reserved pasta water a tablespoon at a time if needed. Add the parsley at the end. This recipe uses neither a flour roux nor stock, leaving the cream sauce straightforward to season.