Cooking 4 2: Perciatelli in Mushroom Sauce

This is a pleasantly, full-flavored dish that's pretty quick and easy to make. It's perfect for wintertime both because of the warmth of flavor and the reliance on pantry items. I find the flavor satisfying without the addition of any spice "heat," but that would be easy to remedy for those who require it.

Perciatelli is a type of hollow spaghetti, slightly thicker than Bucatini, which could be substituted here. Its added weight is useful for dishes with chunks of bacon, pancetta, mushrooms, etc. The hollowness also allows it to soak up sauces or melted cheeses. Both conditions are met in this dish!

The wine to accompany could be white or red as long as it contrasts nicely with the richness of the food. I don't think I'd want a Merlot here, or a cloying California red. I've chosen a 2007 Côte-du-Rhône, Perrin & Fils Vinsobres Les Cornuds. This is a lovely wine with just the right amount of complexity to not overpower this food. It has a remarkable finish, mouth-satisfying and then vanishing like a well-behaved child.

I'm using good quality canned tomatoes here, but separate the tomatoes from the liquid they're packed in, reserving it. Remove any hard parts (right where the stem was attached) and puree the solids. You'll add the liquids a little at a time as the sauce simmers, only using as much as needed for the thickness desired.

I enjoy the smokiness the Bacon gives to the dish, but if this is something you don't like, then blanch bacon for a few minutes in boiling water. A good tip for any dish.

Ingredients:

½ large, sweet Onion, diced

1 small stalk Celery, diced

2 strips Bacon, see method

3 oz Mushrooms, sliced

2 Tbs Olive oil

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1 cup Beef stock

28oz can of Tomatoes

sprig fresh Basil

⅛ tsp Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Salt & Pepper to taste

3 Scallions (or 4)

3 oz the Wine you'll serve with the meal

Parmigiano Reggiano

Perciatelli (just under ¼ lb. per person)

Method:

Prep all ingredients. Slice Bacon strips into 3 or 4 thinner strips lengthwise, then crosscut into pieces about 2 inches long. Prep tomatoes as described above. Chop Scallions into small tubes and reserve for the final steps.

prepping tomatoes

ingredients prepped

Sauté Bacon until its fat is rendered, then add mushrooms and cook until they color on both sides.

rendering bacon

add mushrooms

Now add Onions, Celery, and Garlic and cook until transparent.

Add Beef stock and raise heat, cooking down for a few minutes.

cooking down stock

Add Wine and cook for a few minutes.

cook down wine

wine added

Add Puree and stir in well. When it comes to a boil, lower heat to simmer and add Cinnamon and several gratings of Nutmeg. Float the Basil in the sauce and simmer on low for about 45 minutes.

tomatoes added

sauce simmering

As it cooks, stir occasionally and add juice, if needed, to keep the right consistency. [Mine took just about all the juice!]

After 45 minutes, add Perciatelli to a pot of boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes fewer than the instructions on the box. Drain well and add to the sauce, submerging all the pasta, stir in about half the scallions. Let this cook for about 3 or 4 more minutes. The Perciatelli will absorb the sauce into the hole in the pasta!