Monday, September 04, 2006

Pasta with Girolle and Cream


Saturday was a really miserable day for weather - rain and wind and never properly light and pretty much dark by 6pm. Just like autumn. The initial plan had been for steak for dinner that night but seeing the box of fresh girolles at Booths led me astray and instead I wanted to make this deeply luxurious dish that is both elegant and cheering on an otherwise bleak day.

The pasta I use for it is called lasagne festonate made by la Molisana - I buy it either at Camisa in Soho or Terroni and Sons in Clerkenwell. It is quite beautiful - about an inch wide with a delicate frill down one edge like the scalloping on a favourite party frock. Well worth searching out. The cream has to be the best you can get - this is such a simple dish that every ingredient shines.

Pasta with Girolles and Cream

100g/4oz fresh girolle, wiped clean of any soil or debris
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tspn lemon juice
250 ml whipping cream
1 clove garlic peeled and halved
1 sprig rosemary
250g lasagne festonate or other flat, widish pasta

Heat the oil in a small frypan over a gentle heat add the cleaned mushrooms. Cook slowly for ten minutes - cooking on a high temperatures will make them go rubbery. Meanwhile in a small pan heat the cream with the rosemary and garlic till it starts to simmer then turn off the heat and allow to infuse.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water as per the instructions on the packet. Drain the pasta and divide between two bowls. Strain the cream over the pasta. Stir the lemon juice through the mushrooms and season then scatter over the top of the pasta and serve with crusty bread.

The sun shone the next day.

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