Pappardelle with Mushrooms a La Masseria

La Masseria is an amazing Italian restaurant that has locations in New York City, Newport, Rhode Island and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

I was fortunate enough to go behind the scenes and experience fresh pasta in the making and delectable sauces made from scratch. I could’ve stayed there all day cooking and best of all, eating their entire menu!

The chef prepared an incredible mushroom pasta dish with a mix of imported Italian mushrooms that were unlike anything I’ve ever had before. The variety of the mushrooms was superb and the flavors beyond delicious!

I was Inspired to Cook this Pappardelle with Mushrooms myself.

I have created a copy-cat version of this restaurant masterpiece so that we can recreate it at home with mushrooms and ingredients that can be found in most grocery stores.

“Simple”, is the best word to describe this pasta dish. Very few ingredients are needed. Every ingredient in this dish compliments the others. However, let’s not lose sight that the mushrooms are the highlight here! The pasta does not sit on a heavy sauce. Instead, the pasta helps carry the mushrooms in its soft ribbons. The perfect vehicle to not overpower the delicacy of the mushrooms.

Instructions on how to make this Pappardelle with Mushrooms:

Let’s talk pasta first!

Pappardelle pasta is a wider than fetuccini pasta that resembles ribbons. It is my all time favorite shape of pasta!

For this recipe I use freshly made pasta. Instead of making the pasta myself, I buy fresh pasta that can be found in specialty markets or larger grocery stores in their refrigerated section.

Using boxed dry pasta will work too, just know that the cooking times will vary. Adjust by starting the boiling water process before you even prep any of the other ingredients. Toss in the pasta and start cooking it as you are chopping the shallots and mushrooms. This way the pasta will be well underway in the cooking process and the starch in the pasta will have seeped into the pasta water.

Tip! Fresh pasta cooks in less than 5 minutes. Boxed dry pasta takes 10-12 minutes.

Let’s talk mushrooms now:

I used 5 mushrooms. All of them I found in the same specialty market where I found the fresh pasta.

I used crimini mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, chanterelle, enoki and white button mushrooms.

There are so many varieties out there that you can’t go wrong with which ones you use. My advice: use a mix of mushrooms that will give you variety in color, shape and size. Each mushroom will bring a different texture and flavor to the dish, and none of them are strong enough to overpower the dish.

A list of commonly found mushrooms in the grocery store that you can use for this dish:

• portobello
• baby portobello
• cremini
• white button
• chanterelle
• porchini
• maitake

On to the actual cooking of this mushroom and pappardelle dish:

In a large cooking pot, boil water for the pasta to cook in. Salt the water generously.

Tip! I once heard someone say that pasta water should taste like the ocean, so think about that as you salt it.

While the water comes to a boil, in a large sauté pan, melt the butter and start sautéing the shallots. Season with salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Let the shallots cook until they start turning color and the smaller bits are browning. The smell of your kitchen at this stage is drool worthy!

Add the mushrooms and season again with salt.

At this point the pasta water should be boiling so add the pasta and stir in the water to help release the starch.

Tip! Stirring in the pasta also helps it not stick together into one giant clump.

Sauté the mushrooms for 2-3 minutes until they start softening.

Add the white wine and cook it out for a minute or so, so it can evaporate and the alcohol is all cooked out.

Now, add a ladle full of pasta water into the mushrooms and sprinkle some of the flat leaf parsley.

Cook the mushrooms for a few more minutes. As the water evaporates and you can see the bottom of the pan, add more water and keep cooking.

Keep repeating this motion as you see fit, your eyes are your guide. Learn to read how the mushrooms look.

Tip! Ask yourself these questions regarding the sauce. Are they getting dry? Time to add more water. Are they still cooking in a lot of liquid? Let the liquid cook out more. Has most of the water evaporated but there is still some in there? Time to add more water.

Reserve some pasta water and drain the pasta.

Tip! I like to use a 2 cup pyrex measuring cup with a handle to scoop out the pasta water. It’s safe and it helps me measure how much pasta water I am using.

Set the pasta aside for a minute or so while the mushrooms are still cooking and you continue to occasionally add pasta water.

Tip! At this point, when adding pasta water, add it in small splashes of about 2 tablespoons at a time. It’s easy to add more but hard to take out!

Pour the pasta in with the mushrooms and stir in.

Add the parmesan cheese and more flat leaf parsley. Stir well, the parmesan cheese will melt and make the sauce get creamy.

If the water has mostly evaporated, add a touch more pasta water.

The sauce should be at the bottom of the pan, it is not a sticky sauce but it should look creamy like below.

Tip! Work quickly, the sauce in the bottom of the sauté pan will evaporate and get absorbed quickly by the pasta.

Give the sauce a taste. Check for saltiness and creaminess. Season with more salt if needed. Adding more parmesan will make it creamier. If it looks dry, add more pasta water.

Serve in a bowl sprinkle more parmesan cheese and parsley. Enjoy right away!