Region: Italy
Category: Pasta with Vegetables
Season: Any
Difficulty: Easy and Quick
This was a surprisingly filling dish and none of us felt that it needed meat of any kind once when we serve this before a second course. It was a real comfort-food type of dish. The oyster mushrooms should be found in a supermarket these days as they are not as exotic as they use to be. The ricotta salata is a dried and salted ricotta cheese that can be found in Italian markets or you can use the Greek myzithra cheese which is the same cheese.
[photo: Seri Kattan-Wright]
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 pound oyster mushrooms
2 broccoli stalks, stems peeled and cut into thin sticks, florets broken smaller
3/4 pound perciatelli (bucatini)
1/4 pound ricotta salata cheese, crumbled
3 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
1. In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat, then cook the onion, garlic, and mushrooms, covered, until the mushrooms are soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Turn the heat off.
2. For every pound of pasta, bring 6 quarts of water to a rolling boil over high heat, salt abundantly with up to 1/2 cup of salt, then add the pasta in handfuls and the broccoli stems. After 5 minutes add the broccoli florets. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally so the pasta doesn’t stick together, until al dente. Drain without rinsing. Transfer the pasta to the skillet and toss with the mushrooms. Sprinkle on the ricotta salata and mascarpone and serve.
Variation:
Note:
Posted: 12/23/2006
