Pasta Alla Boscaiola (With Sausage & Mushroom)
Pasta alla Boscaiola, a traditional fall/autumn sausage and mushroom recipe is among the best ever! This Italian classic was originally made with fresh mushrooms, especially porcini. However, it is equally delicious when you use dried mushrooms and other types
Ingredients
- 12oz campanelle pasta (360g) or tagliatelle, penne etc
- 500g mushrooms (40g (1.5oz) porcini, fresh or dried plus champignons, cremini, popping etc)
- 3.5oz pancetta (cut into small cubes)
- 10.5oz Italian pork sausage (salsiccia) (meat removed from casing, chopped)
- 1 onion (finely chopped and peeled)
- 1/2 glass White wine
- 400g Tomato passata or canned tomatoes
- 40g Parmigiano Cheese (grated)
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper taste
- 3-4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 handful Fresh parsley (chopped)
Instructions
- Set a large pot of water to boil. Once the water starts to boil, add salt and bring it back to a boil.
- Add the pancetta to a skillet or frying pan with a small amount of olive oil. Cook until the pancetta starts to brown. Add the sausage meat chopped and cook it for a couple of minutes.
- Add the chopped onion and olive oil to the skillet. Add the fresh mushrooms when the onion starts to soften.
- Add the dried or frozen porcini after the mushrooms have softened. Combine and cook for another minute or two.
- Pour the white wine over the meats. Add the tomatoes/tomatoes passata when the alcohol has evaporated. Mix, season and simmer for 30 minutes on low heat. Add some fresh parsley.
- While the pasta is cooking, follow the directions on the package to cook it al dente. Drain the pasta, then add it to the pan along with the sauce.
- Mix all ingredients together in a pan.
- Serve immediately, adding extra chopped parsley or grated Parmigiano cheese as needed.
Notes
- Peas can be added to this recipe. If they are frozen, add them to the sauce five minutes before its ready. If they are still fresh, add them to the tomato passata.
- Don't forget to soak dried porcini in warm water for at least 20-30 minutes prior to making the sauce. Do not throw away the water after draining them. Add it to your sauce for an intense flavour of porcini!
- This recipe uses Italian-style sausages. You can use plain pork sausages with the addition of rosemary and fennel to simulate the flavour.