Three Mushroom Rigatoni
Serve with Wilted Escarole with Garlic, Lemon and Oil.
Note: You can use any ridged pasta shape. Giant ribbed elbows are shown here with additional peas thrown in for more flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 pound rigatoni pasta
- Salt
- 1 1/2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 4 portobello mushroom caps
- 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1/2 cup dry Italian red wine
- 2-3 stems rosemary, stripped and finely chopped (a couple of tablespoons)
- Black pepper
- 1 can crushed tomatoes (28 ounces), such as San Marzano
- A hunk of Pecorino Romano cheese, for grating
- Crusty bread, for mopping
Preparation
Heat a grill pan to high.
Place a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Add salt and cook the rigatoni to al dente.
Place the porcini in a small pot with about 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to simmer, then reduce the liquid by half, about 10 minutes.
While the pasta and porcini are working, pour about 1/4 cup EVOO into a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to coat the portobellos in EVOO and place them on hot grill. Cook until dark and tender, 7-8 minutes, turning once. Remove and let rest.
Heat a large, deep skillet with 2 tablespoons EVOO, two turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the shiitakes and cook for a few minutes, then add the garlic and cook a couple minutes longer. Add the wine and reduce a minute. Halve and slice portobellos, then add to shiitakes. Scatter the rosemary into the pan and turn to distribute the herb. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes.
Remove the porcini from steeping broth with a slotted spoon and chop. Stir the mushrooms into the sauce then add a few ladles of the steeping broth. Do not use the very last of it: any grit in the dried mushrooms will have settled to the bottom of the pot. Let the flavors combine for a couple of minutes more.
Drain the pasta and add to the warm pot. Grate some Pecorino Romano down over the pasta and add a few ladles of the sauce to the pasta. Toss the pasta and sauce to coat, then transfer to a serving platter or into individual bowls and top with remaining sauce.
Pass more cheese at table for topping, and bread for mopping.
