Linguine with mushrooms and truffle

Cook: 15 mins

Fabulous food need not be elaborate or time-consuming, provided you use top-quality ingredients. Wild mushrooms are worth every penny as they are full of flavour. A few fresh truffle shavings add an extravagant finishing touch to this dish, but if your purse strings do not stretch that far, simply scatter over some Parmesan shavings.

350g dried linguine (or spaghetti)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

500g mixed wild mushrooms (ceps, girolles, trompettes, chanterelles, mousserons, etc.), cleaned and trimmed

1–2 tbsp olive oil

2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled and finely crushed

100ml crème fraîche

finely grated zest and juice of ½ lemon

large handful of flat leaf parsley, leaves only, chopped

drizzle of truffle oil

truffle shavings or Parmesan shavings, to finish

For the pasta, bring a large saucepan of well-salted water to the boil.

Meanwhile, tear larger mushrooms in half, leaving small ones whole. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and sauté the shallots and garlic for about 5 minutes, until soft and lightly golden.

Add the pasta to the pan of boiling salted water and cook for slightly less time than suggested on the packet.

Add the mushrooms to the shallots and fry over a medium heat for a few minutes. Once the mushrooms have softened and are beginning to take on a little colour, add some seasoning. Continue to fry until most of the liquid released from the mushrooms has cooked off. Stir in the crème fraîche, lemon zest and juice.

Drain the linguine, reserving a few tablespoonfuls of the cooking liquid. Tip the pasta onto the mushrooms and toss over a medium heat for 1–2 minutes. Add a little of the reserved cooking liquor if the sauce seems on the dry side. Add the chopped parsley and truffle oil and toss through. The pasta should now be al dente.

Divide the linguine and mushrooms among warmed plates and scatter over the truffle or Parmesan shavings to serve.

Serves
4

Cooking Time
15 minutes

Main ingredients
Pasta & Noodles, Vegetables

Recipe Type
Dinner, Entertaining, Vegetarian

Special Info
Nut free, Vegetarian

Level of Difficulty
Medium