Saturday evening, Dennis and I attended a cooking date night class at Sur La Table. It was so much fun, we had the best time! Our good friend, Marie, attended with us, it was definitely a night to remember, lots of laughs and smiles. I love the classes Sur La Table offers and always learn something I know I will use in my cooking. We made a Tuscan dinner Saturday night that included sautéed mushrooms to serve over steak and polenta. Truth be told, polenta is definitely not my favorite and I still don’t care for it.

As we were sautéing our mushrooms, I was reminded of the mushrooms that were in my fridge ready to make a mushroom fettuccine dish. I liked the ingredients that were in our mushroom sauté at class, so decided to make a similar version for my pasta dish.

I bought a package of mushrooms that was already sliced to save on time, but sliced the fennel and shallot in thin strips. I also minced 3 cloves of garlic to add to the vegetables.

First, I heated 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. I then added the fennel and shallots and cooked until they started to caramelize. Next, I added the garlic and let it cook with the vegetables for 45 seconds. I removed this to a bowl, making sure to scrape up any of the flavor bits on the bottom of the pan, and set the bowl aside while I cooked my mushrooms.

I added another 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, along with 3 tablespoons of butter and let the butter melt into the olive oil before adding 16 ounces of sliced mushrooms. I let the mushrooms cook until they were done, about 10 minutes. Once the mushrooms were cooked through, I sprinkled them with kosher salt and added 1/2 cup of Pinot Grigio and let it simmer until the wine started to reduce. Once the wine was reduced by half, I added 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard and stirred it into the mushroom and wine mixture. I then added 1/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese and mixed together.

I then returned the fennel, shallots and garlic to the skillet and stirred it into the mushrooms and also added the Parmesan.

Meanwhile, I had been cooking my fettuccine. I reserved two cups of the pasta water and set it aside, should I need it to loosen my sauce or add once I added the pasta to the skillet. I did need to add a bit of the pasta water to my mushroom mixture, as you’ll see in the picture below. I added a bit at a time, making sure it doesn’t get too saucy.

Next, I moved the noodles directly from the pot over to the skillet and combined them into the mushroom mixture.

I added fresh parsley and fresh thyme and tossed once again.

I asked Dennis if he’d like to cut the basil (our finishing garnish) in a chiffonade, something he learned at Sur La Table the previous night. He gladly accepted!

This dish was a great success! We both really enjoyed the flavors and enjoyed this dinner so much.

Ingredients

1 package fettuccine

16 ounces sliced mushrooms

1 shallot, sliced into slivers

1 fennel bulb, sliced into slivers

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, stripped from stem

olive oil, divided

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup Pinot Grigio

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

kosher salt

pepper

red pepper flakes for garnish

fresh basil for garnish

fresh shaved Parmesan for garnish

Directions

1. Boil water and cook pasta. Make sure to reserve 1-2 cups of pasta water once the pasta is done.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil. Sauté the fennel and shallot until they start to caramelize, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook 45 seconds. Remove from pan into a bowl and set aside.
3. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil and butte to the skillet. Heat until butter is melted. Add mushrooms and let cook until mushrooms are done, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle kosher salt over mushrooms.
4. Pour wine into skillet and let reduce, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the skillet. Once the wine has reduced by half, add the Dijon mustard, mix well.
5. Add the fennel and shallot mixture into the skillet, as well as about 1/2 cup of the pasta water that you’ve saved. If you feel you need a little extra moisture, slowly add more of the pasta water, until the consistency you are looking for is reached.
6. Add the cooked pasta into the skillet and toss with the mushrooms, fennel and shallots. If you need more pasta water, feel free to slowly add some, until you are happy with the consistency.
7. Add the parsley and thyme to the pasta dish and toss well.
8. Garnish with basil, fresh Parmesan and red pepper flakes, if desired.

Until next time, Kris