We can thank our dear friend, Linda Rollin, for this lovely recipe. She clipped it out of a newspaper which had adapted it from Langdon Cook's "Fat of the Land". We love the recipe because it's sinfully rich, generously endowed with golden chanterelles, comes together in minutes...gosh, what's not to like!
I'm thinking that our next rendition of this pasta will include a generous portion of seafood - maybe shrimp or scallops or maybe crab, thanks to our local crab fishermen. After all, it's almost crab season again!
Our crab fishermen are a hard working crew.
Creamy Chanterelle Pasta
1 pound bow-shaped pasta
1 gallon water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 cup butter, divided
1/4 pound bacon or pancetta, diced
1-2 shallots, finely chopped
1 pound fresh chanterelles, sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 pint heavy cream, divided
4 ounces, about 1 cup, sweet peas, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Warm a mixing bowl in 250 degree oven.
- Put the water and salt in a large kettle over high heat.
- To make the sauce, melt half the butter in a large saute pan over medium high heat and add the diced bacon. Do not drain the fat. As the bacon begins to crisp, add the shallots and cook until they are tender, about 4 minutes. Add the chanterelles, cook until they release their moisture, then stir in the salt and pepper.
- Drop the noodles into the boiling water with kosher salt, and while they are cooking, finish the sauce.
- Combine the remaining butter and half the cream in the warm mixing bowl and put the bowl back into the oven. Pour the remaining cream over the mushrooms and allow it to simmer away while the pasta cooks. Just before the pasta is ready, add the peas to the chanterelle cream sauce.
- Drain the noodles and toss them in the warm mixing bowl. Pour on the sauce and toss with the grated Parmesan cheese.