Boscaiola pasta with tomatoes, porcini mushrooms and bacon

• 10 minutes to prepare • 15 minutes to cook • Serves 4

10 MINUTES 

 

Boscaiola pasta is a first course which is perfect to be enjoyed in early winter. It is indeed during this season that porcini mushrooms, the main ingredient of this dish, are especially rich in flavor.

In this recipe they are combined with fresh tomatoes and bacon, giving life to a classic combination of Italian cuisine originated from Tuscany. This rustic sauce is nowadays popular all over the country, and it is declined in many versions: with cheese, or few spoons of cooking cream; with parsley or even olives...

Discover the intense aroma of undergrowth and let you be tempted by this succulent first dish, which is perfect for those who love classic flavors...but do not have too much time to cook!

Here are ingredients for the 4-serving recipe:

 

320 g Penne pasta
400 g porcini mushrooms
1 onion
200 g bacon
2 sprigs thyme
300 g cherry tomatoes
EVO oil
salt and pepper

1. Start by cleaning porcini mushrooms. Use a damp paper towel to wipe each mushroom, one at a time, to remove any dirt. You can also lightly rinse the mushrooms with cool water and pat dry with paper towels, without soaking them. Then, cut them into thin slices from the ends of the stems
2. Cut the bacon into cubes. Wash and cut the tomatoes in half
3. Boil water in a pot, add salt and once started to bubble, pour penne pasta. Follow the time instructions reported on the package: usually Caserecce pasta is ready in about 10 minutes
4. Put the bacon in a pan and braise for a few minutes without adding oil. Let it brown until crispy
5. Braise chopped onion with 3 tablespoons of EVO oil, then add the mushrooms and let it cook for a few minutes, stirring from time to time. Add bacon and tomatoes, too, and season with a pinch of salt and freshlt ground pepper. Cook until the tomatoes are softened
6. Meanwhile, finely chop the thyme, and add it to the sauce. Let it cook for another 5 minutes, adding some cooking water if the sauce starts to look dry
7. Drain penne pasta al dente, and pour it into the pan with boscaiola sauce. Stir until pasta absorbs the sauce and you are ready to go!

Nutrition Facts are listed for this recipe in the table below. Data is provided per serving.

Alice remained looking thoughtfully at the mushroom for a minute, trying to make out which were the two sides of it; and as it was perfectly round, she found this a very difficult question. However, at last she stretched her arms round it as far as they would go, and broke off a bit of the edge with each hand.
(Lewis carroll, Alice in Wonderland)