Tagliatelle with mushrooms and parsley

I've finally sat down to write up the sauce recipe to go with my semolina tagliatelle. I was too shattered last night as I went out to see an Italian play with some friends. That may not sound tiring, but I didn't get home until 2am because it turned out that the people whom I was with knew practically every cast member... so consequently we had about 3hrs of post-show 'meet and greet the English person' and once again everyone was ridiculously friendly and made me feel right at home in what could have been a bit of a nerve wracking environment. As for the show, it was an amazing spectacle, but I made the error of going completely unprepared and thus understood a pretty much zilch. When I say I wasn't prepared, I didn't even know the title - I've just developed a bit of a habit of saying yes to every social occasion on offer, concluding that it's good for my confidence and my Italian... and it makes every day less than a little predictable.

 

Now for the recipe, this sauce is made without butter or cream, so you can practically say it's healthy. The combination of mushroom, garlic and parsley is nothing new, but they complement each other so beautifully that I didn't want to ruin them just for the sake of being a bit original.

Serves 2

 

Two large handfuls of mushrooms, fairly thinly sliced - the more wild and interesting the better

1 handful finely chopped parsley

1/4 white onion, finely shopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Extra oil and parmesan to serve

1 egg's worth of the semolina tagliatelle (or shop-bought pasta would also work)

 

• Add half the oil to a frying pan (on a low heat) with the garlic and onions.
• Once they're slightly softened, add the mushrooms and half the parsley and continue cooking for about 5 minutes (until the mushrooms are completely cooked through.
• Cook your pasta (if you're using homemade pasta, this should only take a matter of seconds in boiling water).
• Drain your pasta and combine with mushroom mixture and the remaining parsley and oil.
• Serve with grated parmesan and extra oil if you fancy.