Mushroom Tagliatelle

I'm a big fan of all kinds of pasta. I particularly enjoy trying the different varieties - and oh, are there many - to learn the names and experience the differing textures. Width and thickness of pasta define it's very name, with tagliatelle being between pappardelle, tagliolini, and fettucine in size. And it makes a difference in the dish! Try fettucine alfredo with angel hair pasta and you'll understand.

I've also learned more about the quality of pasta, something I wrote about recently. Expanding on that, I've also come across another interesting tidbit: in addition to the ingredients and drying method (whether quick dry or slow dry), how the pasta is cut makes a difference. Pasta that is smooth was cut with teflon, where pasta that has a roughness to it was cut with bronze, and that roughness allows sauce to better stick. Long story short, I'm buying only slow dried, rough pasta these days. And they say adulting is boring.

Tagliatelle is one of the aforementioned specific pasta shapes. Similar to fettucine, it is a long flat noodle. It name is derived from the Italian word "tagliare", meaning "to cut", referring to the pasta being rolled out, then sliced. Legend has it that in 1487, Mastro Zefirano made an iconic meal to celebrate the engagement of Lucrezia Borgia, which included pasta made by cutting lasagne into long golden strips of pasta in honor of the Borgia's famous blonde hair. Just like that, tagliatelle was [reportedly] born.

On this entire dish in particular, I cannot speak to the legitimacy to its roots. I found the recipe, it looked lovely, and I tried it. I couldn't find much in terms of history of this specific dish, but I did find similar ones (a la tagliatelle ai funghi e tartufo).

To the dish! It starts simply enough, with mushrooms, onion, and garlic sautéed with butter or cooking oil in a large skillet. I used cast iron because, well, I love it. On the side, I started cooking the pasta in a large pot.

Next, I deglazed the pan with some white wine and let that cook down for a few minutes. After this came the cream cheese, heavy cream, and some of the water from the cooked pasta, which helped me get the sauce to the consistency I wanted. I seasoned it with some salt and pepper.

I wound up with a thick and creamy sauce. I stirred in some parmesan for extra cheesiness.

Given the amount of cream and cheese in this, I'm sure you can imagine it was quite delicious.

And for a quick and straightforward pasta dish, I really have to say it came out well.

I topped everything off with some fresh parsley and voila!

Clues this dish was good: I've made it twice.

It's quite simple and certainly tasty. 10/10 for a filling weeknight meal. Will you find this dish in Italy? Actually, cream cheese is apparently quite popular in Italy, and is called "Philadelphia"....so maybe. All I know for sure is that you will find it in my house, though I hope to find out on my next EU trip for myself.

Mushroom Tagliatelle Recipe

Ingredients:

8 ounces tagliatelle pasta (or similar such as linguine or fettucine)

1/2 cup diced onion

8 ounces sliced mushrooms

1 tablespoon cooking oil (I used avocado)

2 cloves garlic minced

1/2 cup white wine

1 cup heavy whipping cream

4 ounces cream cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper 

Instructions:

Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain water, reserving 1 cup. In a large skillet over medium high heat, sauté onion and mushrooms in olive oil until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and continue cooking one more minute. Add wine to the pan and scrape any pieces that have cooked to the bottom. Continue cooking for 4-5 minutes, until some of the wine has cooked off. Add the cream and cream cheese and 1/4 cup of the pasta water; stir until cheese has melted. Simmer 5 minutes, until sauce has thickened. Mix in the pasta and 1/4 cup of the grated parmesan. Thin with additional pasta water as needed. Add salt and pepper.

adapted from creamy mushroom tagliatelle