Pink spaghetti chitarra with wild mushrooms
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Pastel pink strands of freshly made spaghetti are coated in a creamy sauce packed with simply sautéed mushrooms in this beautiful starter from Aldo Zilli. Aldo uses a 'chitarra' machine to create a specific type of spaghetti, but if you don't have one at home you can simply cut the dough into fine ribbons.
First published in 2021
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Pasta
- 100g of 00 flour
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp beetroot purée, (you can make this by blending 1 cooked beetroot)
- 1 pinch of sea salt
Sauce
- 250g of assorted fresh mushrooms, such as porcini, shiitake and oyster, washed and sliced
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- 30g of unsalted butter
- 1 sprig of thyme, leaves chopped
- 1 tbsp of white wine
- 4 tbsp of vegetable stock
- 3 tbsp of double cream
- 70g of Parmesan, finely grated
- 1 tbsp of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
SAVE RECIPE
Method
1
Begin by making the pasta. Beat the egg in a bowl with the beetroot purée
2
Place the flour in a bowl, add the salt and mix well. Make a well in the middle and pour in the beaten egg mixture. Working from the centre outwards, start to mix the egg into the flour until a dough forms. Knead slightly until smooth and pliable, then leave to rest for 30 minutes covered with a damp cloth
3
Use a rolling pin to roll out the pasta dough until 5mm thick, then press through a Chitarra machine (you could also use a sharp knife to cut the pasta into very thin strips). Place the spaghetti on a flour-dusted surface and set aside to cook later
4
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil
5
While you wait for the water to boil, place the oil in a frying pan and add the shallots and garlic. Cook over a low heat for 2 minutes
6
Turn up the heat to high, then add the mushrooms and thyme. Stir well, add the wine and bring to a simmer. Once the wine has reduced completely, add the vegetable stock and cream, then leave to reduce by half over a low heat for around 7 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, then keep warm
7
Cook the pasta for 2 minutes in the boiling water, then drain and add to the sauce. Mix well, then add in a little of the parsley and cheese (reserving some for garnishing)
8
To serve, divide the dressed pasta between 2 serving dishes, using a metal ring to shape it into a neat cylinder if desired. Sprinkle with a little parsley, with some extra Parmesan on the side
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