Decadent mushroom pasta for the ‘whole’ family

My family has recently grown by two very cute super naughty grey kittens who have taken over our house and already have us firmly wrapped around their tiny paws.

On Saturday we invited kitten godmother Annika to redeem her birthday pamper day - fresh berry and mango fruit salad in the bath, body exfoliation and masque, girly chatter, tandem full body massage (with a little help from the kittens), chilled bubbles and lunch, followed by 4 episodes of Vampire Diaries tucked in bed with the kittens and another bottle of bubbly. With Annika being a self confessed pasta-holic and autumn in the air, the lunch menu was easily chosen.

I found dried chanterelle mushrooms at Pick n Pay added fresh portobellini mushrooms, crème fraiche and parmesan… it was hard to go wrong with this combo. Even the little carnivores agreed that this was an unbeatable meal.

In the recipe below I’m going to tell you exactly what I did on Saturday but naturally you can use any combination of fresh, dried or wild mushrooms you enjoy. If, however, you get the chance to eat fresh or dried chanterelles take it from me… they are awesome!

Chantarelle and Portobellini Mushroom Pasta

Serves 6

500g pasta of choice, cooked and drained

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

250g portobellini mushrooms, sliced

¼ tsp of all spice

¼ tsp of cumin

½ tsp of fresh ground black pepper

1 Tbsp soya sauce

2 tsp of whole grain mustard

40g of dried chanterelle mushrooms, rehydrated with a cup of boiling water

250g crème fraiche

½ tsp of salt

1 cup of finely grated parmesan or alternative hard Italian cheese

I think it’s best to leave dried mushrooms rehydrating for a good few hours if possible, so they are not too stringy or chewy. The water they are soaking in is packed full of mushroom flavour, so try to incorporate it into your sauce. If this is not an option add it to your pasta water along with plenty of salt to give your pasta good flavour from the start.

Heat the oil in a large thick bottomed pan on medium high heat, add the onions, garlic and fresh mushrooms and fry until the onions start colouring. Add the spices and soya sauce and fry until the moisture has evaporate and the mushrooms are starting to fry.

Add the water the chanterelles have been soaking in and chop up the chanterelles before adding them to the pan. Add the mustard and crème fraiche. Allow this to simmer for 5 minutes. If the sauce is too runny allow it to simmer until the right consistency is achieved. It should be a thin sauce but should not be watery. Salt to taste.

Add the cooked pasta to the pan and combine. Dish up and top with lots of grated parmesan.