Photo: Big Pasta with Mushroom, Parsley, Garlic and Thyme Recipe
Ingredients
Bechamel:
- 1 stick butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 8 cups milk
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Freshly grated nutmeg
Mushroom Mixture:
- 2 tablespoons butter, plus 1 stick
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 3 ounces dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 2 cups boiling water
- 1 pound, 8 ounces mixed mushrooms, chopped
- 3/4 cups fresh parsley leaves, chopped, plus 3/4 cup, plus 1/4 cup more for garnish
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or fresh thyme leaves
- 3 fat garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup amontillado sherry
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus 1 cup
- Salt
- 3 pounds rigatoni or other big pasta of choice
- Few sprigs fresh thyme, for garnish
- Special equipment: Large roasting pan, approximately 12 3/4 by 16 1/2 inches.
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a saucepan, melt the butter for the bechamel, and add the flour, stirring gently to make a smooth paste. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the milk. Turn the heat back on to medium, and stir the bechamel until it begins to thicken and come to the boil. Let it bubble for about 5 minutes to get rid of the floury taste. Take off the heat and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter and the oil in a large wide pan. Drain the porcini, reserving the liquid, and chop before adding to the pan with 3/4 cup chopped parsley, the dried or fresh thyme, and garlic. Stir for a couple of minutes then melt the remaining 1 stick of butter in the same pan and add the chopped mushrooms, stirring for about 5 minutes. The mushrooms will appear dry at first but will eventually start to give off some liquid.
Add the porcini soaking liquid, which the mushrooms will largely absorb, but keep stirring and add the sherry and let it bubble away. Turn off the heat when you have a bronzed, syrupy stew.
Stir the mushroom mixture into the bechamel and add 1 cup of the Parmesan and the other 3/4 cup of the chopped parsley. Put a big pan of water on for the pasta, and when it boils, salt it well. Cook the pasta until al dente, then drain and add to the mushroomy white sauce, stirring it as best you can to get the pasta covered.
Turn into the large roasting pan and sprinkle over the remaining 1 cup of Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top begins to turn golden in places.
When the tin comes out of the oven, decorate with the remaining 1/4 cup chopped parsley and some sprigs of fresh thyme.
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By alex_sp46
Carmel, NY
on January 01, 2012
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I made it for New Year's first family dinner. I love it! This is the best mushroom pasta sauce I have ever made. My husband and I like porcini a lot and I will make this again for sure. I just think I will convert to half recipe as usually we are two adults and two little kiddos and the recipe is for a larger group.
By michele_10848127
Gladstone, NJ
on July 25, 2011
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I liked this but didn't love it. I followed the recipe exactly as written and it was rather expensive for something that I didn't think was out of this world. If I were to make it again, though I probably won't, I wouldn't bother baking it, I would just mix the sauce with the pasta and serve. I absolutely love Nigella, just not this particular recipe.
By thenIsaid
Indianapolis, IN
on July 24, 2011
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Made the bechamel w/ 5T butter, 5T very finely milled whole wheat flour S & P and a little nutmeg - and skim milk. Added parmesan and a splash of vermouth. Heated olive oil instead of butter and sauteed finely minced shallot and shitakes till both were golden. Added smashed garlic and sauteed briefly so garlic could reach its most flavorful state without burning. Then I added parsley and lemon thyme from my garden to the warm pan and turned off heat. When bechamel was a good consistency, (which was tan from the WW flourI added the mushroom mixture like Nigella suggests. Added enough red pepper flakes to pique the taste without adding heat. Spent the morning making fresh semolina pasta - long noodles that were about 1 1/2 inches wide, and wanted something awesome to serve on it. Added cooked pasta to sauce and served immediately - didn't want the fresh pasta to break down and wanted it al dente, which is why I didn't bake it. Added a little pasta water for consistency.
Read all 34 reviews