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wild mushroom pasta 2

Fresh Paparadelle with Wild Mushrooms, Scallops, and Asparagus in Garlic and Cream

This is probably the simplest and easiest fresh pasta recipe to dig into. Wide noodles  are quick to make– just fifteen minutes of active work – and easy to handle, no special equipment required. Wild mushrooms are a seasonal favorite, but cultivated mushrooms also work well; morels, black trumpets, chanterelles – you can use just about any type. The key to making an incredible Pasta Fresca is to perfectly cook each element. That’s why it’s important to saute the garlic along with the mushrooms, and separately cook the scallops and asparagus. Once all the ingredients are cooked, the dish comes together in seconds! Of course you can also riff off this idea to make different seasonal versions. The scallops could be substituted with just about any seafood or poultry and the asparagus with summer squash, zucchini, roasted peppers, or eggplant. Finish with your favorite grating cheese like parmesan, pecorino, or my favorite, aged asiago.

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Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 batch perfect pasta dough
  • 23 cloves garlic
  • 68 scallops
  • 1 bunch asparagus
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/41/2 cup heavy cream
  • 8 oz fresh mushrooms 
  • or 2 oz dried
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 sprigs thyme

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Instructions

  1. Prepare you pasta dough.
  2. Saute asparagus, season and set aside.
  3. Start water boiling for pasta.
  4. Saute wild mushrooms,  adding minced garlic in the last 2 minutes of cooking. season and set aside.
  5. Roll pasta into a sheet about 1/16th inches thick and cut into 1/2 inch strips. Use plenty of flour to dust your pasta sheet as you roll it so that it won’t stick.
  6. Start your pasta boiling and get your scallops into saute on high heat.
  7. Boil pasta 8-10 minutes. and saute scallops until medium rare (an internal temperature of 125 ° )
  8. Drain pasta water, reserving 1/2 cup to thin sauce if needed.
  9. Add the cooked mushrooms, garlic, cream and asparagus to noodles and stir finish with finely grated cheese, thyme, salt and pepper to taste
  10. To adjust the consistency of the sauce, use reserved pasta water for thinning or grated cheese for thickening.
  11. Plate with scallops and serve…brace for ecstasy!
  • Author: Ben Lester