Crimini Pasta by Daniele and Nina Polidoro

My dad has always believed in the importance of using real ingredients in the kitchen, no matter what the dish; so if you want high quality taste, use high quality ingredients. Using real butter and real cream is essential to this dish!

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 cups  of 18%  cream
• 150  g butter
• 1  cup  chicken stock (or vegetable)
• 3 (250 g) packages  fresh pasta
• 1  lb  fresh cremini mushroom
• 30  g dried porcini mushrooms
• 1⁄2 small onion
•  fresh parsley, grated parmesan cheese
•  salt, pepper (in Italian, this would be accompanied by "QB" meaning "quanto basta", "to your taste, "as much as yo)

Directions

1. • Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in warm water for 30 minutes.
2. • Clean and dry the crimini mushrooms. Chop mushrooms into large enough pieces that they can be found in the sauce (avoid chopping them too finely). Place into a bowl.
3. • Finely chop a handful of fresh parsley.
4. • Gently squeeze water from the porcini mushrooms, and collect 4-5 oz of the resulting mushroom juice; don't use the grit in the bottom of the bowl! (You could also strain with a cheese cloth.).
5. • Coarsely chop the soaked porcini mushrooms.
6. • Finely chop ½ of a small onion.
7. • Put on a big pot of water to boil – add a tablespoon of salt when the water starts simmering.
8. • Set the table. Make it look pretty.
9. • Melt butter in the pan on medium heat, bringing it to a sizzle.
10. • Add onions, frying them until golden in colour – add the mushrooms, and bring the mixture to a high temperature. Allow this to cook for about 8 minutes, stirring regularly.
11. • Add 3 pinches of parsley, and the mushroom juice (about 1 cup), chicken stock (1 cup – this could be substituted for vegetable stock, if you prefer), and cream (1 ½ cups).
12. • Stir the sauce, and reduce to medium heat.
13. • Add pepper to taste (or QB!).
14. • Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes once the cream has been added; it may look like a lot of sauce in comparison to the amount of pasta you're using, but the pasta will soak up some of the sauce.
15. • Add pasta to boiling water, stir regularly to ensure it doesn't stick (for this quantity of fresh pasta, this takes approximately 5-7 minutes to reach el dente).
16. • Strain the pasta and add to sauce in a serving bowl. Garnish pasta with fresh parsley, and add grated parmesan to taste.
17. For best results, enjoy with loved ones, and follow with espresso & a delicious homemade dessert. Buon appetito!