Italia a tavola-Boletus-Woods woman Tagliatelle

Ah! What a magnificent mushroom! Well know for its wonderful taste and fleshy hat. It's delicious raw, cooked or dessicated. It grows in shady woods particularly under oak trees or chestnut trees. The boletus is fairly easy to recognize due to the shape of its hat, the dense pores underneath and the shape of the foot. There are a couple of species of boletus which are toxic, but luckily one has an i ncredibly bitter flesh and the other is bright red under the hat...easy! The Boletus Eduli and Boletus Aureus, (Porcino and Porcino nero in Italian) are the most exquisite, and this is what we are cooking tonight!

Tagliatelle verdi alla Boscaiola

Ingredients for 4 servings:

14 oz of green Tagliatelle (with spinach)

18 oz. of Boletus

18 oz. of ripe Roma tomatoes, peeled seeded and cut in strips

1 small onion (1/2 red onion) minced

salt, pepper, nutmeg, butter, olive oil, one glass of good red wine (not cooking wine)

Use relatively small boletus, clean them by removing the earthy part of the foot and lightly brushing them with a mushroom brush, and cut them in 4 to 6 wedges.

Lightly fry the onion in three tablespoons of olive oil; when golden brown add the mushrooms. Raise the heat and stir well until the mushrooms have lost their water. After a few minutes, when the mix is getting drier, lower the heat and add salt and pepper and the glass of wine. Let cook until 1/2 of the wine has evaporated. At this point add the Roma tomatoes, add another pinch of salt and the nutmeg and let cook for about 15 minutes.

In the mean time cook the tagliatelle; drain the water and put them in a bowl; dress them with about a spoon of butter and some Parmesan (Parmigiano) cheese and mix all well, add the mushrooms sauce and mix well again. Serve them with more Parmesan on the side. Ahh!