Pasta with Mushrooms and Italian Sausage
This recipe is based on one I created for Bon Appetit Magazine while I was the food editor there, and it's been one of my favorites ever since. The sauce can be prepared up to two days ahead, making the dish easy for entertaining. My favorite gluten-free pasta its ZenB, followed by Banza. Use pork or turkey sausage. While the dried porcini mushrooms add depth of flavor, this is still delicious without them.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 to 1¼ pounds hot or sweet Italian turkey or pork sausage, casings removed
- 1 pound crimini or botton mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
- Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 1¼ pounds rotini or penne pasta
- 1 cup half and half
- 1½ cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
- Chopped fresh Italian parsley
Instructions
- Rinse the porcini mushrooms and place in a small bowl. Add 1 cup hot water, place a small plate or bowl on top of the mushrooms to keep them submerged. Let soak until softened, about 20 minutes. Drain the porcini, reserving the soaking liquid. Chop the porcini.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until beginning to soften, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to high. Scrape the sausage from its casing into the skillet. Cook until no longer pink, breaking up the sausage with the back of a fork, about 6 minutes.
- Add the fresh mushrooms and rosemary to the skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté until the mushrooms begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the porcini and wine. Bring to a boil and boil until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 4 minutes.
- Add the broth and porcini soaking liquid to the skillet, discarding any sand at the bottom of the liquid. Simmer until the sauce is syrupy, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. (The sauce can be made to this point ahead. Let stand at room temperature up to 1 hour, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days.)
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite. I find that the pasta reaches a pleasing consistency in a minute or two less than suggested on the package. Drain well. Return the pasta to the cooking pot.
- Meanwhile, reheat the sauce. Add the half and half and boil until thickened somewhat, about 4 minutes.
- Add the sauce to the pasta. Add 1½ cups grated Parmesan and mix well to coat the pasta. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide the pasta among bowls or plates. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve with additional Parmesan to sprinkle on top.