Here is one more pasta sauce recipe – this one is made with wild mushrooms. You don’t have to use too many wild mushroom (they can be a bit more expensive than your regular white mushrooms – but they do add a great aroma and taste. The creaminess and thickness in a sauce usually comes through using cream – like in white Afredo sauce, but if you want to make the sauce a bit lighter, you can use flour to thicken your sauce. That is what I have done in this recipe. Totally delicious and as all other recipes – easy to put together!
Wild Mushroom Pasta Sauce
1-2 oz. package wild mushrooms or fresh, sliced wild mushrooms (about a cup will do nicely)
1-1-1/2 cups of finely sliced white mushrooms or portobello mushrooms
1 cup chicken, vegetable or beef broth, boiling
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons butter, divided
4 large shallots, minced
4 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped sage
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Crumble the dried mushrooms into a glass bowl or measuring cup and pour the boiling broth over them. Let steep for at least 20 minutes. Drain and reserve the drained liquid. Mix the drained liquid with the white wine.
Heat a tablespoon of butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped button or portobello mushrooms and let sit, without stirring, for about four minutes or until they have thoroughly browned on one side. Stir and let them cook on the other side – again, without stirring – for about four minutes. Add the shallots, garlic, sage and steeped wild mushrooms. Turn the heat to low, and cook until they are all fragrant and soft.
Add the second tablespoon of butter and, when melted, add the flour. Stir rapidly with a whisk, letting the flour thicken with the butter into a paste. Slowly pour in the mushroom broth and white wine, whisking rapidly. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking, until the mixture thickens. It should thicken to the consistency of a thick gravy.
Add the chopped parsley, season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately over pasta with plenty of fresh Parmesan.
